Jurisdiction
by Clairisant2000
Summary: Personally I never liked the Meredith character but it was just too perfect to have Max from Crossing Jordan as her brother. She takes AJ to Boston to meet her family and the fun ensues!
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Jurisdiction

AUTHOR: Clairisant and Raedwulf (my husband)

CLASSIFICATION: This is a JAG/Crossing Jordan Crossover story. AJ/Meredith, Harm/Jordan, Lily/Garret.

FEEDBACK: Would love to hear both good and bad feedback, but please try to be kind and constructive. 

CREDITS: A special thank you to our beta readers Qupeydoll and Shaz.

Chapter 1

Wednesday, 6 August 2003

1945 EST

AJ's home

McLean, Virginia

"AJ, it will be fine, I promise! You'll love Max and Jordan! He's a retired cop and now owns and runs a bar, and Jordan is a ME."

"Meredith, I am not complaining about going," AJ said in frustration. He wasn't looking forward to this trip to Boston to meet Meredith's family. But he knew they were her only relations and that it was important to her that he meet them.

"AJ, they're my only family and I want you to get to know them!"

"Darlin', you're not listening to me. I said I would go."

"Oh!" She looked sheepish.

They were sitting on the couch in AJ's living room, after a wonderful dinner, that AJ had cooked. Meredith had been trying to get him to take time off for over a month, but JAG had been so backed up, what with Rabb gone and Mac on light duty after her trying time in Paraguay, that he simply could not get away. Now though, things were finally lightening up a bit, and he felt like he could take a week off without too much trouble.

"Damn it!" Meredith exclaimed.

"What?" AJ questioned, alarmed.

"Dammit can't go to Boston."

"Now that I tell you I can go, suddenly you can't?"

"What do you mean I can't? Of course I can…."

AJ, interrupting her before she could finish her sentence, said, "But you just said, 'Damn it, can't go to Boston'!"

"Right!" she said, looking puzzled.

In complete confusion, AJ questioned in frustration, "So, can you, or can't you, go?"

With a glint in her eye, Meredith finally understood his confusion. With a mischievous smile she said, "Whose on first?" She grinned and turned to look at him.

"What!" he exclaimed in absolute exasperation. At times she aggravated him to no end!

"No. What's on second!" she replied, trying to restrain herself from laughing.

"Damn it, woman! What are you talking about?"

"Dammit," she answered simply. The dog heard her name and trotted from the kitchen and over to Meredith.

Finally realizing that she had been referring to the dog all along, AJ exclaimed, "Dammit!"

Hearing her master call her name, Dammit put her paws up on AJ's shoulders and proceeded to bathe his face in kisses.

Through her laughter, Meredith repeated what started the whole misunderstanding, "Dammit, can't go to Boston."

Never having any idea how far-reaching a problem he had created with the dog's name, he sighed in acceptance that both the females in the room had bested him. "I wonder if Mac would watch her while we're gone?"

"AJ, that's a wonderful idea! I know she's missed Jingo since Chloe took her. I bet Mac would love it. Why don't you call and ask her?"

"I'll see her at the office tomorrow, Darlin'."

"But AJ, this is a personal request, so you should do it in your off time," Meredith encouraged.

"All right," he said, and picked up the phone. Waiting for Mac to answer he reached over to scratch Dammit behind the ears.

The first thing Mac heard when she answered the phone was Dammit's happy bark.

AJ was about to speak when he heard Mac chuckle and say, "Well, I don't often get calls from dogs, how did you manage to dial my number, girl? Boy?"

Laughing at her silliness, AJ replied, "Mac, Dammit is talented in many areas, but dialing a phone is not yet one of them."

"Admiral! Sorry, Sir! What can I do for you?"

"Feel free to refuse, if you like, as it's a personal request. Meredith and I are going to Boston next week. I need to find someone to take care of Dammit. I was wondering if you would like to, I know that you've been missing Jingo."

"Oh, Sir, I'd love to! Would you want me to pick her up, or…"

"In your 'Vette, Mac?" he chuckled again, picturing that sight. "No, I'll drop her off Friday night, we leave early Saturday morning. Is that is okay with you?"

"That would be fine, Sir."

"Thank you, Mac, and, when we're off-duty, and I'm making a personal request of you, it's okay to call me AJ."

"Yes, Si…AJ." They both laughed at her near slip. They said their good-byes and hung up.

To be continued….


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Friday, 8 August 2003

1000 EST

Jordan Cavanaugh's Apartment

Boston, MA

Jordan's apartment was a mess. The rumpled bed held a tossing and turning, sweaty woman. The ringing of the phone jarred her awake. Groping for it on the bedside table, she managed to knock it onto the floor before grabbing hold of the receiver. She mumbled a groggy and slightly annoyed, "Hello?"

"Jordan," her father's voice came across the line, "I tried you at the office, kinda thought you'd be there. Just wanted to…"

"Oh, shit, what time is it?" she exclaimed squinting at her clock, which was blinking indicating that the power had been out during the night.

Max calmly announced, "'Bout ten. Taking the day off?" he asked as he heard the phone being slammed down. Chuckling to himself, he hit redial.

An annoyed, "What!" was the answer he got.

"I wanted to remind you that your Aunt Merry and her fiancé are coming into town tomorrow and we are having an Unsolved Case Night tomorrow night at the bar. Have you invited the gang?"

She tried to wiggle into a pair of what she hoped were clean jeans as she pinned the phone between her shoulder and her ear. "Fiancé?" she asked confusedly.

"Yeah, the Admiral she's been seeing."

"Oh, yeah, poor guy, does he know what he's getting into?"

He laughed and said, "Yeah, he deserves combat pay! So, is the gang coming?"

She suddenly realized that she had been standing there talking instead of heading out the door. "SHIT!" he heard as the phone was slammed down again.

Max looked at the receiver in his hand and laughed as he hung up.

1030EST

Medical Examiner's Office

Boston, MA

Jordan got halfway down the hall before seeing anyone. She was glad that the first person she did see was Lily. "Are you just getting in?" Lily asked, glancing at her watch to confirm the time. As she thought, it was ten thirty.

"Yeah, but please don't tell Garret!" Jordan pleaded.

Having just come out of his office and hearing the last part of the conversation, Garret asked sharply, "Don't tell Garret what?"

"Huh, what?" she asked pretending to be more incoherent than she was.

"That you're an hour and a half late? That your father called twice looking for you? That this is the fourth day you've been late this month and it's only the eighth? That your alarm didn't go off again? Tell me when I'm getting warm here…"

Jordan opened and closed her mouth two or three times before saying, "The power went off last night…"

"I don't want to hear it!" he exclaimed and stormed back into his office. As she proceeded down the hall to her own office, she passed Bug and Nigel's cubicle. She saw them both shaking their heads and trying to keep from laughing. She shot them a look of death as she stomped into her office.

A short time later, she was in the middle of an autopsy, "Don't you think the one time that I have a legitimate excuse, he would at least let me explain?" Jordan asked the body on the table.

She was startled when she got a response. Then she looked up to see Bug had come into the room. "What?" she questioned.

"I was just saying, that I don't think he's going to answer you," Bug grinned at her.

Looking down at the body, she asked, "You do care, Mr. Carter, don't you?"

Shaking his head at her strangeness, Bug walked off.

On her way to the break room for lunch, Jordan met Lily heading in the same direction, "So, what did your dad want this morning?"

As they entered the room she saw everyone was there as she replied, "Dad's sister is coming to town, and he wants to have a special Unsolved Case Night…"

"As long as I'm not the psycho-killer-bad guy again!" Nigel exclaimed.

"I don't know the case or the parts, but if you all can be there, we're meeting at the bar tomorrow night at 6:30pm."

Nigel agreed to come, still grumbling about what part he would get. Bug, Lily and even Garret said they would be there, although, Garret asked snidely, "So, is that 6:30 real time or Jordan time?"

"I tried to tell you that the power…" her words trailed off as he walked away shaking his head clearly not listening, to a word she said.

To break the awkward silence, Lily asked, "Um, is Woody coming too?"

"SHIT!" she exclaimed, and dashed to her office to call and invite him.

To be continued….


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Friday, 8 August 2003

2000 EST

Mac's Apartment

Georgetown, Washington, DC

When there was a knock on the door right on the dot of 2000, Mac knew that it would be the Admiral dropping off Dammit for her ten-day stay at Mac's apartment. Opening the door after a quick look through the peephole to make sure, Mac greeted her CO. "Hello, Sir…come in."

"Good evening, Mac, thank you for doing this," he said.

Sinking to her knees in front of the dog, Mac reached out and scratched her behind the ears, "Hi, Dammit," she said, getting her face washed for her efforts. Sputtering, Mac got to her feet as AJ began to apologize for his dog's behavior.

"I'm sorry, Mac, I have taught her better manners than that, but she's excited about being here in a new place."

"Oh, its okay Sir. I'm used to Jingo doing that-but at least he was male!" she replied with a grin.

With a wide grin of his own, he answered, "Well, you know what they say. 'Don't ask, don't tell'."

Mac laughed at this comment and stepped back so they could both enter the apartment. AJ bent down and picked up the large bag of dog food that had been resting unnoticed at his feet. Mac's eyes widened at the size of the bag and she asked, "How long are you planning on being gone, Sir?"

AJ looked a bit startled at this comment, not quite understanding what she meant. "I thought I mentioned that we would be gone ten days?"

"You did, Sir, but just how much does Dammit eat?" Mac nodded at the twenty-five pound bag resting on his shoulder.

"Oh, this! I just thought it would be easier to bring an unopened bag rather than try and drag over her current one. I brought a scoop in the bag with her toys; she gets two scoops of food a day. I feed her in the mornings before I leave for work."

"I think I can handle that. Where does she normally sleep?"

"Well…if she had HER way, she would sleep in bed with you, well, me…um…well, that is…well, she wanted to sleep with me anyway…not to say that she would want to sleep with you, Mac…I, um…mean not to say that she wouldn't…um…she sleeps on the floor next to the bed," he finally sputtered to a stop.

Surprised at the Admiral's loss for words Mac figured there must have been a major battle over which female would win the right to share his bed. Trying not to laugh, she replied, "I bet Meredith put a stop to that!"

AJ just looked at her and shook his head, not saying a thing, then with a bit of a sigh, he said, "Thank you again for doing this, Mac. I'll pick her up the Sunday night that we get back. Don't spoil her too much."

"I did plan on taking her for runs with me when I go, if that's okay?"

"She would love that, but here in town you'll need to keep her on her leash. I put that in the bag too. Although she doesn't like the leash as much as running free."

"It's a good thing that you brought it, then-I don't have one of my own."

He raised an eyebrow, looking at her suggestively. She finally realized what she had implied by saying 'one of my own'. She quickly corrected, "Since Jingo has been gone I mean! Chloe took JINGO'S leash with her when she took Jingo…"

Grinning even wider now, he said soothingly, "Yes, Mac. Well, I really better be going." He looked down at the dog and said, "Dammit," thumping the front of his chest with his hand; Dammit rose up on her back paws and placed her front paws on AJ's shoulders. She nuzzled his cheek with her nose instead of licking his face as she had done with Mac.

Mac exclaimed, "What? No good-bye kiss?"

"Dammit, down," and the dog quickly obeyed. "Well, if you insist," AJ said as he leaned over and gave Mac a brief peck on the cheek. "See you on the eighteenth."

As the door closed behind him, Mac placed her hand on the cheek he had just kissed, and sighed. She had a slightly sad look on her face as she thought about how lonely her life had become lately.

To be continued….


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Saturday, 9 August 2003

0800 EST

Meredith's Apartment

Falls Church, Virginia

AJ arrived at Meredith's apartment to pick her up to go to the airport. Meredith opened the door and after greeting him with a kiss, pointed to the three large suitcases standing by the door. "My god, Meredith! We are going for a week, not moving in!"

"AJ, its THREE bags!" she exclaimed.

"I only have one," he replied.

"Well, women need to pack more!" came her answer.

"When we all went to Italy together, Mac only had one bag, and we were going overseas!"

"Well, maybe Mac wasn't planning on going dancing or spending her nights with a gentleman!" she said with a questioning look at AJ.

"I didn't ask," he said with a smile, remembering their conversation from the night before.

Saturday, 9 August 2003

0930 EST

On the plane

The flight to Boston would only take an hour and a half and they had just unfastened their seat belts and got settled when a flight attendant escorted a young boy into the cockpit to see the pilot. He came back with a pair of gold wings pinned to his shirt. Meredith turned to AJ and said, "Those are just like the ones Harm used to wear! Wouldn't he be surprised if when he comes back to JAG I have a pair too?" Without really waiting for a response from the startled AJ, who was going to start explaining that Harm would NOT be returning to JAG, Meredith was out of her seat and heading to the cockpit.

When he saw the flight attendant try and stop Meredith, AJ made himself look busy with a magazine that he found in the pouch of the seat in front of him.

Meredith had been in the cockpit for over ten minutes when AJ realized that the pilot probably needed rescuing. He got up from his seat and headed towards the cockpit as well. The flight attendant stopped him right before the door, "Please don't tell me that you want a set of wings too?" she inquired with a beleaguered look.

"No Ma'am, I was planning on getting my fiancée out of there. She can talk the paint off of walls if allowed to." The flight attendant gave him a sympathetic smile and went back to serving drinks to the 'normal' passengers.

The opening of the cockpit door caused the pilot to turn in relief at the possibility of rescue, but when he saw an unfamiliar man instead of the flight attendant, his face fell. He then became concerned at what this man was doing there. "Meredith, I think you have taken up enough of this good man's time. Come back and sit with me, I am getting lonely," AJ said taking her arm.

"Oh, darling, I am so sorry! But I just had to get my wings! See, here they are, don't they look just like Harm's?" she asked as she pointed to them on her blouse.

"Yes dear, now come and sit down," he said, letting her leave the cockpit ahead of him. As he turned the pilot gave him a 'thank you' look, but AJ missed the look of pity that was directed at him as he turned and left the cockpit himself.

For the rest of the flight, Meredith babbled on about her conversation with the pilot, which even to AJ, sounded like it had been very one sided. Finally the plane was on the ground and they were allowed to disembark.

They were walking though the terminal to the baggage-claim when Meredith squealed, "Max!" and ran over to greet her brother, who had come to meet them.

AJ stood there while she enthusiastically embraced the man who looked a bit uncomfortable to be hugged so publicly. It was several minutes before Meredith remembered that AJ was there and turned to look for him.

"Max, this is my fiancée, Admiral AJ Chegwidden, AJ this is my brother Max Cavanaugh." As they shook hands AJ noticed that Max looked much more relaxed greeting another man than he had greeting his own sister.

"I've heard you're a brave man," Max said, glancing at his sister standing next to the Admiral.

AJ gave Max that half smile of his, and answered, "All in the line of duty."

To be continued….


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

AJ, Meredith, and Max chatted pleasantly in the car on the short trip to Max's home. When they arrived, AJ and Max carried the luggage into the house; Max showed them to the room they would use for their stay. Max glanced at AJ a second noticing how tall he was, then at the double bed in the room, and with a slightly amused grin, "You think your gonna fit in that thing?"

"Oh, we'll just cuddle close, Max," Meredith giggled.

At that AJ just sighed, "We'll be fine…"

"Why don't the two of you settle in, Jordan will meet us for dinner when she gets off work."

"I saw a great recipe for Mimosa Shrimp Ganache in the magazine on the plane. I'm sure I could do it from memory, let me make it for dinner tonight!" Meredith eagerly offered.

Both men exclaimed at the same time, "No!" Each of them had their own reason.

AJ was not sure whether to be more horrified at her cooking, the thought of the dish itself, or that she is going to attempt it from memory. Max, on the other hand, had flashbacks of all of her cooking attempts from their growing up years together. Seeing her crestfallen look, AJ felt bad at dampening her enthusiasm. He hurried to explain that, "I was thinking of taking us all out for dinner our first night here, so no one would have to cook."

At that point, Max also noticed his sister's hurt look, and explained, "Actually I thought we would all have dinner at the bar tonight, I have a surprise planned for you both after dinner and we will be at the bar for it."

"Oooooh a surprise!" Meredith squealed like a child, "What is it, Max?"

"Now you know that if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore," he answered her with a smirk.

"Darn you, Max. I can never get anything out of him, AJ. Max, we wanted you to know that we have set the date for May 24th. Since dad is gone I was wondering if you would walk me down the aisle, and I want to ask Jordan to be a bridesmaid."

"I can only answer for myself, Merry, but yes, I would be honored to walk you down the aisle. Now why don't you two get settled and I will see you in a bit?" Max replied as he left them in the guest room together.

That evening Jordan was at the bar for dinner, and by her standards she was on time. Fifteen minutes late hardly counted. Well, except with ex-cops and military types. Avoiding her father's glance she hugged Meredith and waited to be introduced to the tall bald man standing next to her Aunt. She would have guessed him to be in the military without previous knowledge, by his posture and baring.

"Jordie! This is my fiancé ADMIRAL AJ Chegwidden," Meredith told her proudly.

"Hiya, Admiral!" Jordan smirked and held out her hand.

AJ liked the way she didn't fall all over herself at the rank. He reached out and shook the hand she offered and said, "Make it, AJ," as he held out a chair for her.

"Oooo! An officer and a gentleman!" Jordan cooed.

"Great movie!" AJ said, "but I'm no Richard Geer."

"No, you are much more handsome!" Meredith sighed.

"Thank you, my dear, and remind me to have your eyes examined when we get home."

Max and Jordan both laughed at this as Meredith complained, "Oh, AJ!"

Dinner went fairly quickly with Max explaining his plans for the evening's 'Unsolved Case Night' to them. AJ said, "It sounds like fun. I don't get in on the solving of cases much anymore, with all my administrative duties.

Meredith clapped her hands like a little girl and said, "Oh boy! It will be like the Nancy Drew books I read as a girl!"

"Let me make sure that I understand what's going to happen," AJ said. "We are all going to play parts of people that were involved in this unsolved case that you have, and see if we can figure out what happened. Trying to solve it. Is that right?"

"Yes, exactly!" Max told him.

"Pop," Jordan chimed in, "speaking of parts, Nigel said he didn't want to be the psycho-killer-bad-guy for once," she said with a laugh.

"I was actually thinking of making him the foreman at construction site."

"That sounds safe enough," said Jordan.

To be continued….


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The rest of the team arrived and introductions were done. Max then began to hand out the parts that everyone would be playing. Bug was assigned to play the lead role of Carl Travis. As Max said the name when he handed Bug the file, he noticed his sister's fiancé stiffen.

Max tried to hand AJ the folder for Chuck Trask, a local businessman. When AJ failed to notice, Lily lightly touched his hand in concern, "Are you ok?"

Meredith reached across and drug AJ's hand away from Lily with a suspicious look. "What is it, darling?"

This seemed to bring AJ back to the present. "Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about all the wedding plans."

"Oh, AJ," she sighed with a dreamy look on her face.

"Thinking about all the people out of the past you'll need to locate to invite I suppose," added Max looking AJ right in the eyes.

AJ knowing Max was on to him simply nodded, "Yeah, but we can talk about all that later."

Jordan was given the part of LaVon Travis, Carl's wife.

With a grin Max handed Meredith the file of Tuyen Travis. She opened it to find that she had been assigned the role of a seven year old! "MAX!"

"What Merry?" he said with a smirk.

"I am NOT a seven year old!" she exclaimed stomping her foot.

AJ had to cover his laugh with a cough as he remembered her going to get her "wings" on the plane.

"But Merry, you're my LITTLE sister, I have to give you that part."

"Max… Isn't there some other part I could play?"

"Well, I could have given you the psycho-killer-bad-guy part," he said as he handed Nigel a file, "but you're much too pretty for that".

At the same time as Meredith sighed and said "Oh, Max." Nigel indignantly shouted "But Jordan promised me I didn't have to be the psycho-killer-bad-guy this time! And I suppose he's ugly too!"

Max grinned, "No Nigel, Ralph Franks was an arresting man. He was also the construction foreman working for Chuck Trask.

"He better not turn out to be the psycho-killer-bad-guy!" grumbled Nigel.

Max smiled as he gave Lily her file, "You're Clara Rose, owner of the Bay Street Psychedelic Shoppe."

Lily giggled and asked, "Does that mean that I run a Head Shop?"

Garret looked at her with a skeptical gleam, "How would you know about head shops?"

She just smiled at him and would not answer. So, Max went on to tell Woody, he would play the up and coming, handsome, young detective who investigated the original disappearance of Carl.

Woody sighed, "Type cast again!" and grinned, "So, what's my name?" he asked as Max handed him the file.

"Max Cavanaugh," he said in a self-aggrandizing way, which got a laugh from everyone at the table.

Handing Garret Macy a file folder, Max told him, "You will be my older seasoned partner, Steve Jenkins."

Garret kidded, "Type cast again!" and everyone laughed.

"Ok every one, here is what we have on this case. Actually we are working on two cases that I always thought were related, but could never prove. We have the missing person case of one, Carl Travis," Max was looking right at AJ when he said the name. However, this time AJ was ready for it and showed no reaction at all, so Max continued, "And a report of a shooting from a Miss Clara Rose, that could never be confirmed because we never found a body. The year was 1979 and we begin with a phone call to the precinct from Miss Rose….."

"I knew that name sounded familiar!" Woody exclaimed, "I answered a call from her just last week! She is one wacky lady!"

"Is that wacky on the Wisconsin or the Boston Wacky Meter?" Jordan asked with a shit-eating grin.

Woody just grunted at her, as Lily jumped in and said, "Now you know that everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt!"

"So says the person playing the wacky lady!" Bug teased her.

Lily sighed as if accepting of her lot in life.

To be continued….


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Everyone was quietly reading over their parts and trying to get into the role assigned to them. After several minutes, Max, acting as narrator and guide, got them started, "The call from Miss Rose came in at 9:42 pm on the 4th of May."

Lily looking at the print out of the call took a deep breath and became Miss Clara Rose, local wacky lady, "I… am calling in… to report… a murder!"

Officer, "May I have your name and where you are calling from, Ma'am?"

"This is Clara Rose! And I am at my shop," she pronounced. "Someone was just murdered across the street from me!"

Max, reading the part of the officer that took the call, "Oh, Miss Rose….this is your seventh call this week, Ma'am, are you going for a new record?"

"Now listen here young man! I have never called in with a murder report, EVER!"

"No, Ma'am," he sighed, "you haven't... We will send the next available officer out to take the report." He shook his head as he hung up. Looking up, he spotted the newest detective at the precinct, "Yo, Max!"

"Yeah?" Max/Woody replied.

"That Rose dame called in a murder, go check it out when you got time."

"I was just going off duty, but for a murder case, I guess I could call the wife and tell her I'll be late!" Max replied eagerly.

"Nah, go home to dinner, check it out tomorrow, she will probably have three more reports in by then."

Skeptically, Max asked, "Are you sure? I mean, murder!"

"Yeah, I'm sure, she probably saw someone kick a cat!"

"Well, ok then. Good night," Max said resignedly, as he prepared to hurry home for dinner.

"Yeah, night."

"Pop! You actually went home to dinner with a murder call unanswered?" Jordan asked disbelievingly, breaking the 1979 mood quite completely.

"I was told it was okay!" he answered defensively. "Remember, I was very green at that time!"

"Boy, I was NEVER that green!" Woody chimed in.

"Yes, you were." Jordan informed him.

"Okay people, let's get back to it!" Garret encouraged them.

Picking up the tale, Max said, "Well, my partner and I did go and check it out the next day."

Resuming his role, Max came on duty the next day surprised that his partner, Steve, was upset with him.

Garret, as Steve, complained, "What were you thinking, to say that we would investigate the call from that psycho psychic?"

"He said it was a murder case, Steve!"

"And you didn't think anything odd was going on when Officer Mitchell said a murder call could wait till the next day?"

"Well, he knew I was about to go off duty…" at Steve's look Max/Woody, stopped speaking, finally realizing how naive he sounded.

Steve sighed, "There's no way of getting out of it now, we'll have to check it out. But you get to talk to the whacko!" he warned.

Lily took a deep breath and composed herself, since the detectives were coming to question Clara Rose. She started doing something with her hands that prompted Meredith to ask, "What are you doing, Lily?"

Looking at Meredith with a smile and already in character, Clara/Lily replied, "Why, I am doing a tarot reading, Dearie! I must help the detectives when they arrive."

Meredith was going to question her further, but AJ laid a hand on her arm and shook his head.

Entering the Bay Street Psychedelic Shoppe, Max/Woody went up to the odd looking woman sitting at a table with a bunch of odd looking cards laying out in front of her, "Pardon me, ma'am, we are looking for…"

"Me!" she interrupted self knowingly.

"So, you're Clara Rose?" Max asked.

"None other!" she looked up from her cards, and with a jangling wave of her hand, motioned for him to sit down across from her at the table. The wrist of the hand that she waved was covered in no less than a dozen bracelets, and she had several strands of beads around her neck. Her hair was an odd shade of pink, and she wore huge rhinestone glasses. Garish make-up, and what looked like a flowing caftan finished up her odd look. The shop had an unusual, but pleasant smell to it, but it was nothing he had ever smelled before.

To be continued….


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Ma'am, I'm Detective Cavanaugh, and I was sent here to ask you a few questions…"

"About the…murder!" Clara interrupted again. "You see, I was doing a tarot reading when you came in, so I know why you're here."

Max found himself a bit surprised at this and it only got worse when she said, "You want to know if I work here alone…shame on you, young man! That is a very forward thought!"

That is exactly what his next question was going to be, he was amazed, though, she seemed to think he had other intentions towards her as well, which he certainly didn't. "Um, I was going to ask you that Miss Rose. But because I was wondering if anyone else had seen the crime you reported. I am a happily married man!" he said looking quite uncomfortable.

"Yes, I see you are married, but not so happily…it's not nice to lie, young man. You have trouble at home, and it will shadow the rest of your life, and that of your daughter's too."

"You saw that in some cards?" he asked incredulously. Steve heaved a sigh from the other side of the shop as he saw his young partner being roped in by this woman's prattle.

"The cards see many things, would you like to sit down and have a full reading?"

Having heard Steve's sigh, Max told her, "No, thank you, ma'am. But I do have some questions I would like to ask you."

"All righty then. Go right ahead you darling young man," she smiled at him.

Looking uncomfortable Max asked, "Well, why don't you tell me in your own words what happened?"

"I can do that," she closed her eyes for a moment as if trying to remember and then opened them and began to talk. "Last night, oh, it was about, oh ten thirty five, or ten thirty six, or thereabouts… sometimes Johnny talks longer than others, he had just finished his monologue, Eddie led into a commercial, and I went in to get my tea, I always have a cup before bedtime, I happened to be coming to my living room from the kitchen with my cup of chamomile tea…you know, that is very good for you, it helps you to relax, your partner over there could sure use some, well anyway, I was coming into the living room with my tea and I happened to look out the window, I saw a car pull up across the street, I think it was a black car, or a very dark color, but it was a very dark night, so I can't be sure, they pulled up right by that telephone pole out there, there is nothing else there after all, well there wasn't last night anyway, today, as you can see, they are all over the place out there and making all sorts of noise, putting in that concrete slab for parking, we really don't need more parking around here, but I guess I don't mind watching all the sexy young men working…but last night there was nothing there but an empty lot, and this car pulled up, and two little men got out with a tall one, and one little man shot the other little man…"

Max jumped in, because it was obvious that the woman had no intention of stopping for a breath, "Little men? Like in 'little green men'?" he asked.

"No, silly boy, I'm not crazy! Little men like in 'men that are small in stature' anyway, one little man shot the other little man, I was so startled I dropped my tea, I broke my favorite mug, it was the blue one with the roses on it, the tall man said something and then they looked around, I ducked away from the window, because I didn't want them to see me, while I was down there, I cleaned up the broken mug and the tea, I didn't want to leave it to stain the carpet, when I looked again, Johnny was doing his Mighty Karmac routine and they were all three gone, and so was the car, I poured myself another cup of calming tea, I really needed it at that point, and I still say one would help your partner over there, I'd be happy to make him some if he likes, well then, I called that dear Officer Mitchell, he's has such a nice voice, is he as handsome as he sounds?… please tell him I said hi, so, I called down to the station, and he told me that they would send someone, but you didn't come until today, so I am sure by now that the trail is cold"

To be continued….


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"So, was there anything else?" Max asked cautiously, terribly afraid there might be… and there was…

"I told you everything I saw! But when no one came right away I knew I had better have a chat with that poor little shot man before his spirit passed beyond, I attuned my Ouija board to his karma, he told me he regretted leaving his wife and daughter at home, just like you do, he said that he'd only been in the country for…"

It was at this point that Steve stepped in and spoke, "Why don't you show Detective Cavanaugh where you were when you saw this alleged crime, Ma'am, and I will go across the street and check out the scene."

"Oh that is a good idea! Divide the workload! Come on upstairs young man and I will give you some tea too!" She led the way to the back of the shop and up the stairs to her small apartment on the second floor.

Steve reluctantly went across the street to check out the 'scene of the crime' and found nothing, just like he suspected he would. Meanwhile, Max was upstairs, alone, with Clara, her prattle continued, "So, I was coming from here, in the kitchen," she told him as they topped the stairs to the apartment and entered the kitchen, "Let me put the kettle on before I show you where I was, that way I can give you a nice cup of tea, you look like you could use one, not as badly as your partner could, but you could use one nonetheless, anyway," she went on, after the kettle had been put on to boil, "Here is where I was when I noticed the car pull up, you see that you can see Johnny from here…on the television of course, not in real life, although I have talked to him in person…well on the phone anyway…I was giving him some pointers on his Mighty Karmac act, he really could do it if he would just clear his mind and allow his spirit to focus…but you are here about the murder not about Johnny…so anyway I was here in the archway between the kitchen and the living room and see if you look out down there across the street…why you can see Steve," she opened the window and called out, "Helloooo there Detective…can you see us up…"

"Wait a minute! That isn't what happened!" Max interrupted the proceedings.

"Oh, sorry," Lily said sheepishly, "I guess I was just channeling Clara and got lost in the part."

"Okay, just be careful about ad-libbing, it could affect the outcome of our investigation. If there was a murder on that spot the night before, then it might have been someone who knew that the lot was due to be paved over the next day. There was a work crew there when we were investigating. Calling out to Steve like that could have alerted a possible murder suspect and changed everything."

"Good thought, dad! Were the crew ever checked out?" Jordan asked.

Max thought back, as Woody and Garret looked through the notes from the case. Before they got very far, Max said, "No, it was never checked out. We found no reason to, back then."

"Well, let's get back to what we do know!" Meredith chimed in, "This is getting really interesting. "When do we get to my part?"

"Later," Max admonished her.

As Lily and Woody took a minute to get back into character, Garret said, "I think I'm up next, the meeting between Steve and the construction foreman."

Nigel looked down at his notes and began his role, "Hey, you there! What are you doing here? This is a construction site and you don't belong!"

"I'm Detective Jenkins; we had a report of suspicious activities here last night. You wouldn't have happened to find any bodies lying around the lot this morning before work started would you?"

"Bodies? I think you better talk to the boss about that one!" the foreman suggested. He went over to the trailer on the lot and knocked on the door, he was a bit surprised that Jenkins had followed him. When the trailer door opened Ralph/Nigel said to the Vietnamese man that stood there, "Mr. Trask, this copper wants to know about bodies that might have been laying around the site!"

To be continued….


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

AJ/Trask held out his hand to the detective, "Hello, I am Chuck Trask, won't you come in out of the dust and racket?" Steve stepped into the trailer and Trask offered, "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Sure", Jenkins said, "I never turn down coffee."

After pouring two cups and offering him a seat, Trask asked, "So, what is this about bodies on my site?"

"Oh, we had a crazy report about something suspicious happening out there last night."

"I see, and did you find anything?"

"No, but then I didn't really think I would either."

"Well, that's good, wouldn't want work to stop unless there was something serious going on."

"I am sure that there will be no more trouble, but when we have a report like that we have to check it out."

"Oh I understand completely! It was no trouble at all."

"Okay, I'll be on my way. Thank you for the coffee," Steve said, shaking the man's hand and leaving.

Re-entering Ms. Rose's shop, Steve/Garret yelled up the stairs, "Yo, Cavanaugh, there were no bodies there. You done 'getting her statement' yet?"

Max/Woody gave a sigh of relief and put down the cup of tea that had just been pushed into his hands. "Okay, Ma'am, I gotta go," he said as he turned and left.

Clara went down the stairs on the heels of Detective Cavanaugh.

Steve/Garret stepped aside shaking his head with a grin as the naive young detective hurried past and towards the door.

"Oh, Detective," Clara/Lily giggled with glee.

To everyone in the bar's stunned surprise, Lily grabbed Garret by the lapels and planted a kiss firmly on his lips. She was unprepared to find Garrets lips open in surprise under hers and found herself melting in the sudden release of the feelings for him she had kept pent up for so long.

Slightly off balance from being pulled forward, Garret placed his hand on her shoulder to balance himself. Feeling the touch of his hand Lily cuddled closer into the kiss. Swept up in the moment Garret found himself returning the kiss.

Across the table with raised eyebrows, Nigel gave Bug a knowing look as he jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow.

Jordan seeing this reaction to what should have been a private moment gave a discreet cough.

Startled at the realization of what they had just done in front of everyone, the two of them jumped apart, and Lily's chair toppled over backwards.

AJ, reacting quickly, caught Lily to keep her from falling to the ground, pulling her into his lap in the process.

Meredith shot the two of them a jealous glare.

Max just smirked at his sister.

Bug and Nigel were both trying to keep from laughing.

Jordan smacked Bug and shot Nigel an evil look.

Woody, ever the Boy Scout, jumped to his feet and put Lily's chair upright then offered his hand to help her back into it.

Finally snapping out of his shock, Garret exclaimed, "Why did you kiss me?"

Sputtering in her own defense, "I didn't kiss you…um…Clara kissed Steve!"

"What! Then why did Clara kiss Steve?" Garret demanded.

"It said in the notes he was under the mistletoe!"

"But it was MAY!" Garret shouted.

Max, coming to Lily's aid, "When I asked the same question all those years ago, Miss Rose explained that she kept it up all year round. Now, let's get back to the case."

"I don't get it, dad," Jordan said. "Where do I come into all this?"

"I was just going to tell you that," Max answered in a clipped tone. "It involves the second case. Later that day there was a report of a missing man. Even back then I suspected the cases were connected, but my partner thought I was grasping at straws."

"Well, okay then, are the two of you going to come and talk to me next?" Jordan asked.

"Before we get started on that case, how about a fresh round of drinks and some food, Max?" his sister asked. Meredith was becoming a bit bored at this point and she wanted something to do.

"Sure," he said, "Go ahead and get everyone what they want Merry."

When that had been done and everyone was ready to settle down to the case files again, Jordan took a moment to get into her character and Woody/Max and Garret/Steve prepared to pay LaVon Travis a visit.

To be continued….


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Mrs. Travis?" Detective Jenkins asked of the woman who came to the door.

"Yes, may I help you?"

"I'm Detective Jenkins and this is my partner, Detective Cavanaugh. You reported a missing person?"

"My husband, Carl. He went out to the store last night, to get milk for…."

"Mommy! Mommy!" A child of six or seven ran into the room.

"Yes, Tuyen?"

"Who's that?" Tuyen/Meredith asked, pointing at the two men.

"These men are here to help us find daddy," LaVon/Jordan told her.

"Ma'am, your daughter is not American?" Steve asked.

"Yes, she is, detective. She was born in this country just like I assume you were. Her father is Vietnamese if that is what you're getting at!" came the somewhat heated response from Mrs. Travis.

"You mad, Mommy?"

"The man upset me, darling."

Tuyen walked over to Steve and kicked him in the shins.

"HEY!" Garret exclaimed.

"Ooops, sorry! Was that too hard?" Meredith asked him.

AJ tried to hide a smile, while Max just sighed at his sister.

"Why did you have to do it at all?" Garret demanded.

"Well, it said in the notes that she did!"

"Yes, but you could have just said you did, not act it out!"

"Well, Lily got to act out Ms. Rose's kiss!" Meredith said with some satisfaction.

"Can we please get back to the case?" Max requested emphatically.

Garret was still glaring at Meredith while everyone else nodded that they were ready to continue.

"And you had no reason to believe that he wouldn't return, Mrs. Travis?" Max/Woody asked.

"My husband is a good and honorable man. He loves us very much, he wouldn't leave us!"

"Alright, Mrs. Travis, please calm down. These are questions we have to ask. What time was it he went out?"

"It was just after ten, because the news had come on and we were talking about going to bed. I remembered that we were out of milk and he said he would walk to the market and get some."

"He walked?" Steve jumped in.

"Yes, its only three blocks to Statler's Market and he loves to walk. Carl always said it gave him a sense of freedom."

Both Max and Jordan noticed AJ nodding in agreement when she said that. They filed it away to ask him about it later.

"I'll need a description of what he was wearing when he left, Ma'am," Max/Woody said.

"He was wearing a blue work shirt and black pants with black shoes," she told them.

Having all the information they needed, they left.

The group was looking through their notes to see what was next when AJ questioned Max, "Why didn't you ask for a picture of Carl to show to Ms. Rose for identification?"

"Because, as I told you, my partner didn't believe that the cases were related, and he was the lead on the case," Max told him.

"I wonder if she would still remember if we went back to ask her now?" Woody said, sounding like he was thinking out loud.

"It could be worth a try, if she's still around," Jordan offered.

Lili jumped in eagerly, "Didn't Woody say that he answered a call from her just last week?"

"Yeah, I did, she called in a purse snatcher report," Woody answered.

"Then, if Mrs. Travis is still around, you could see if she would give you a picture of her husband," Lily suggested.

"Were there any more notes to go over, Max?" Nigel asked. "I don't have any."

Several of the others said they didn't either and Max informed them that that was all he had.

"Then, where do we go from here Max?" inquired Meredith.

"Well, we throw out ideas and see what we can come up with," Jordan offered. "Dad, any reason you picked this case for us?"

"Yeah, the parking lot that they were pouring the day after the murder report is being torn up on Monday so they can put in a parking garage."

"So, if there had been a murder, and they planted the guy in the empty lot, then there is a chance we could find the body when they remove the concrete!" Bug exclaimed.

To be continued….


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Max saw AJ stiffen at the crude phrasing and said, "That's what I was hoping. Since there is no statute of limitations on murder, Woody could reopen the case."

"And what about finding Mrs. Travis and taking a picture to show Ms. Rose?" Lily reminded them.

"I'll see if we have a current address on her," Woody added.

AJ knew where to find LaVon and could have told Woody, but he wanted a chance to talk to her first. He wasn't sure how she would react to the case being reopened at this time. Lavon had gotten remarried, so AJ figured he would have time to talk with her before Woody could find her.

After everyone took their leave, knowing that nothing more could be done that night, AJ, Max, and Meredith made quick work of the clean up, then Max locked up and turned off the lights. Meredith left Max and AJ alone in the bar, saying that she was going to take a shower before bed. Max allowed her to get out of the room before pouring AJ a drink and asking the question that had been on his mind all night, "So, how did you know Carl Travis?"

AJ thought about lying to Max, or trying to bluff it out that he never known him, but instead settled for a half-truth. "We met years ago and became friends before I was transferred away. I was at sea when he disappeared; by the time LaVon's letter reached me, it was six months later. I tried to get leave to come back and help her look for him, but I couldn't get it."

"Why didn't you tell everyone tonight?"

"Because it didn't matter to either case and I thought it would just muddy the waters."

Sunday, 10 August 2003

1000 EST

Max's house

Boston, Massachusetts

"AJ, are you sure that you don't mind that I leave you on your own today to go to the bridal show with Jordan?" Meredith asked her fiancée over breakfast.

"Not at all, Meredith, I know how important this is to you. I will just do some sight seeing."

"Oh! You are a dear, and I love you!" she jumped up from the table and kissed him, then headed to their room to grab her purse so she could meet her niece.

"So, what are you really planning to do while she is with Jordan?" Max asked AJ when they were alone in the kitchen.

"I'm going to see my goddaughter."

"And why would you not want my sister to know that?"

"I had no plans to keep it from her, until last night anyway."

"What did last night have to do with your goddaughter?"

"Her mother is LaVon Trask."

"You mean Travis," Max corrected.

"No, she's remarried, she's LaVon Trask now," AJ told him.

"Trask…Trask…" Max repeated as if trying to remember where he had heard the name. AJ could see the moment it hit him. "Chuck Trask! The owner of the building and parking lot in question!" he exclaimed.

"Yes," was all AJ would say.

"Strange coincidence, don't you think?"

"After last night I do. I had no reason to think there was anything unusual before that."

"So, are you going to tell me how you came to know Carl Travis?"

"No," AJ stated firmly.

"Does Meredith know?"

"No."

"I see," Max stated flatly, he watched AJ get up, take his coffee mug to the sink, rinse it out, and leave the room. He was determined to find out what this mystery was.

AJ pulled out his cell phone and dialed LaVon's number to make sure she was home and wouldn't mind him coming by for a visit. She was excited to hear from him and only sorry that Tuyen was not home. He was invited right over.

LaVon greeted him at the door and asked him to come in. Once in the drawing room she offered him coffee and homemade cookies. Even though she was the wife of a very wealthy man, she enjoyed making treats for her daughter, so always had them on hand.

To be continued….


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"How is Tuyen doing in college?" AJ asked with a smile, looking at all the photos on the mantle.

"Very well, AJ, she will be so sorry she missed your visit!"

"I'll be in town for a week, LaVon. I am here meeting my fiancée's family."

"Oh, that's wonderful! I am so happy you are getting married! I know how much your divorce and the loss of your daughter hurt you. I think that you spoiled Tuyen to fill some of that void."

"You know me too well," AJ smiled at her. "I have managed to have a relationship with Francesca these last few years. She contacted me and said she wanted to get to know me. I was happy to make the reconnection."

"And does she approve of this new lady in your life?"

"Well, they haven't met yet, but when we talk or write she tells me she is happy that I have found someone to put up with me!" he laughed.

"I hope your fiancée knows how lucky she is to get a fine man like you! I am so glad that Carl introduced us."

"LaVon, I wanted to talk to you about Carl," AJ told her gently.

"About Carl? What is there to say, AJ? I have come to face that he just didn't love us as much as I thought. I only wish he had remained in contact with Tuyen, but Chuck has tried to be a good father to her."

"LaVon, there is a chance that Carl didn't abandon you. I knew him to well to ever believe that, and now there might be evidence of foul play."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"LaVon, he may have been killed. The night he disappeared, there was a witness to a murder."

Murder?" her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped."

"Now, we're not sure that it has anything to do with Carl, but I just have this feeling that it might. If you would be willing to talk to the police about this, I would come with them and be here for you, if you like," AJ offered.

"You know Chuck doesn't like me to even mention Carl…." she trailed off.

"Would it be easier if you didn't tell him until we know something definite?" 'God, I sound like Clayton Webb now! Telling her to keep things from her husband!' he thought.

"Yes, I think that would be wise. He only allows my contact with you because Tuyen loves you so."

"I know, and I don't want to cause any trouble for you."

"AJ, after all you have done for us, I would like to believe that Carl was the man I loved and the good man you knew him to be."

Going over to her and giving her a hug, AJ told her, "I'm pretty sure of this LaVon. Will you cooperate with the police?"

"Yes, AJ, as long as you come with them, I will. Would tomorrow afternoon be all right? Chuck always works late on Mondays and Tuyen has no classes so she will be here to see you," LaVon told him.

"That would be fine, LaVon. I will arrange it. Say one o'clock?"

"One is good. Will you bring your fiancée also?"

"Not tomorrow, but what about if we take you and Tuyen out to lunch one day this week?"

"Wednesday? Tuyen has no classes on Wednesday."

"Perfect, I will talk to Meredith and let you know for sure tomorrow."

They said their goodbyes and AJ got back to Max's before Meredith and Jordan returned from the bridal fair.

Meredith hugged him so enthusiastically when she got back that AJ was sure he heard his back pop in a couple of places. "So, how was the fair?" he asked, when he could breathe again.

"It was just superb!" Meredith gushed. "We saw so many gowns that would be just perfect for Jordan that she had trouble deciding."

AJ saw Jordan wince behind Meredith's back and knew that was not the case. Trying to help, he offered, "One thing I have learned from having a daughter in the fashion business is that today the attendants don't want to spend money on a gown they will never wear again. So you should look for something simple yet elegant, that doesn't shout 'bridesmaids dress'."

To be continued….


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Jordan flashed him a grateful glace as Meredith pouted and asked, "So, no tulle or ruffles?"

"Well, I know all I have is a designer's word to go on, but…" he trailed off.

"No, that's fine. If your daughter said that was the way to go, then we will," Meredith told him. Turning to Jordan she asked, "What about the gold sheath dress with the darker amber band at the hips?"

"Yes, I liked that one."

"You and Sarah Mackenzie are the same coloring so it will look good on her too! I think the dresses are set then!"

Later that evening, after getting Woody's cell phone number, AJ placed a call to him, "Detective Hoyt? AJ Chegwidden here, I have set up an appointment with Carl Travis' wife for tomorrow at 1300, um…sorry, one pm. She is willing to talk to you as long as I am there as well."

"Just how did that happen, Sir?"

"I have known her for years and went by to see her today. After explaining what we think may have happened, she wants to see this resolved."

"Why didn't you tell anyone this last night?"

"Because, I didn't see any relevance to the proceedings last night in revealing my relationship with her. I felt it could only cloud the issue and also, I wanted to find out how she would react to the case being reopened after all these years."

"Relationship, Sir?" Woody was dying to know more, but he had been trying to curb that over-eager image of late.

"I am her daughter's god-father."

"She was seven when her father disappeared, so you knew Carl also, Sir?"

"Yes, I did. LaVon has remarried and her husband doesn't like her to even mention her first husband. He's a very strict head of the household."

"I see. So, we won't be dealing with the new husband at all?"

"We might not have that luxury, Detective. Her second husband is Chuck Trask."

Because everything was still fresh in his mind, Woody picked up on the connection right away, "The owner of the parking lot in question!" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, and several other pieces of land in the area. He is a prominent businessman."

"Well, that won't matter much if we can prove he's connected to a murder."

"Proof will be the key issue. Will you be available at that time?"

"Yes, I intend to be at the site in the morning to inform them of what we are looking for, but I can be free by then. I'll pick you up. What time would be good?"

"Twelve thirty should be good. It's about twenty minutes from here."

"I'll see you then, Sir."

"Thank you, Detective." Now, AJ just needed to explain all this to Meredith.

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell me before this, AJ! I mean all the time that we were talking about coming here so you could meet my family, you didn't tell me that you knew someone here that you would want to see!" Meredith exclaimed when he told her that evening.

"Meredith, the reason that I didn't tell you, was because I wasn't sure that we would even be able to see LaVon and Tuyen. Her husband is very strict about who he allows them to see. The last time I was in town, she was not allowed to see me because her daughter was out of town on a retreat. Chuck is much more indulgent of Tuyen, and because she was not there to demand to see me he kept LaVon from meeting with me."

"How can anyone in this day and age have that much control over their wife?"

"Her husband is Vietnamese, and very old school. He believes in keeping complete control in his household and seems to be very jealous of Carl's memory. That is why he will not allow LaVon to see me if Tuyen is not around. Because I am her godfather and she loves me, he indulges her the occasional visit with me and some holiday and special occasion cards and letters. But when she is not around, he doesn't feel that LaVon should see someone associated with her first husband."

"And how was it you knew her first husband again?"

To be continued….


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"I really can't say more than, we went way back, Meredith. I knew him before he even met LaVon," AJ told Meredith.

"AJ, I just don't understand, with what little you have told me about your Viet Nam experience how you could become close enough friends with a Vietnamese man to become godfather to his daughter."

"Just believe that he was one of the only good parts about that time, alright, darling?"

Looking into his face and seeing that he was not going to say anymore she gave a resigned sigh, "I guess I will have to, AJ. But will I get to meet LaVon and her daughter on this trip?"

"Thank you, Meredith, and yes. I have made plans for us all to go out together to lunch on Wednesday, if that's okay with you."

Monday, 11 August 2003

0900 EST

Boston, Massachusetts

Woody had pulled the case file that morning; he found no other information that Max hadn't presented them with on Saturday night. He wasn't surprised when he arrived at the site to find Jordan already there. "Morning, Jordan."

"Hiya, Woody," she said not taking her eyes off of the heavy equipment in front of them.

After talking to the foreman on the site, they found that it would take hours to remove the concrete. He took Woody's cell phone number and said they would follow the precautions in looking for the bones, he promised to call Woody if they found anything.

Woody hung around making sure that the crew was treating the investigation seriously and then he offered to buy Jordan lunch. He had been trying to get her to date him for months now, but she would only treat him as a friend.

She said that she wanted to have lunch with him, but that Macy would expect her to show up for work if she knew this was going to take a while. Sighing in resignation Woody ate lunch alone and then went to pick up Chegwidden for their meeting with LaVon Trask.

As they approached the house, the front door opened and an incredibly beautiful young Vietnamese girl flew out of the house. She was just about to throw herself into AJ's arms when she saw Woody with him. Stopping short she bowed her head and meekly waited to be acknowledged.

"Tuyen, this is Detective Hoyt, and he is here to speak to your mother about your father."

"Yes, Danh tu {Uncle} AJ, she is expecting you." Tuyen led the way into the house and then into the drawing room where her mother waited.

AJ once again introduced Woody, and LaVon asked them to have a seat. "I know AJ likes coffee, Detective Hoyt, would you prefer coffee or tea?"

"Coffee would be fine, Mrs. Trask, thank you."

"Tuyen, will you see to it please?" her mother asked. Tuyen left the room to do her mother's bidding.

"Mrs. Trask, I understand that Admiral Chegwidden has explained to you that we have reason to believe that your husband might have been the victim of foul play?"

"You mean murdered, Detective?"

"Yes, Ma'am, I am sorry to say that might be the case. We have a witness; we would like to show her a photo of your first husband for identification purposes. If you have one?"

"I do, but I would like it back when you're finished please. I have so few."

"I will see to it personally, Mrs. Trask," Woody told her.

As LaVon went to get the photo, AJ told Woody that he was going to help Tuyen bring in the coffee tray. When AJ entered the kitchen, Tuyen checked to make sure he was alone and then threw herself into his arms in the greeting she wanted to give him when he first arrived.

"I have missed you, Danh tu AJ. I never can see enough of you! And now Mama tells me you are to be married!"

"Yes, Tuyen, her name is Meredith and you will meet her on Wednesday. She has family here in Boston, so you may be seeing more of me in the future," he smiled indulgently and returned her hug.

"That's wonderful!" She hugged him again and then quickly finished preparing the tray. AJ carried it in as they rejoined Woody and LaVon.

When they had finished their coffee, Woody once again thanked Mrs. Trask for talking to him and promised to return the picture as soon as possible.

"We are having lunch with AJ on Wednesday, if you are finished with it by then, he could return it." It was clear that she was nervous about the detective returning to the house.

"That should be plenty of time, good day, Ma'am," Woody reassured her and the two men left.

While Woody and AJ were at their meeting with LaVon Trask, Jordan was back at the office trying to gather some more information on the missing man. She asked Nigel to run Carl's name through the Internet on his computer and see what he could come up with. Nigel found nothing other than a small story in the newspaper from back then about the missing man. However, his search raised a flag at The Company and Harmon Rabb was called into Clayton Webb's office.

To be continued….


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Rabb, we need you to go to Boston. Here are the details of the case, your plane leaves in an hour, be on it," Webb told him, handing Harm a file.

"That's it? That's all the info you are going to pass on?" he asked.

"Everything you need to know is in the file. Just keep this as quiet as possible and make it go away."

"And if I have questions?"

"Then call, but you should be able to handle this, it's routine. Keep a low profile and sweep this all under the rug," Webb advised.

Harm left the office to prepare for the trip and look over the file.

Tuesday, 11 August 2003

1600 EST

Construction Site

Boston, Massachusetts

Work ground to a halt when the bones were uncovered in the torn up parking lot. Woody was notified and called Jordan; they arrived on the scene and took over the removal of the remains. The work crew was sent home for the day while the painstakingly slow process of gathering information and removing the remains could be done.

The only person overly concerned with what was going on, watched from the window of the office building next door to the lot. When they removed the bones, he placed a call.

Garret assigned Jordan the investigation into the bones found at the parking lot site. Later that day she was able to match the dental records of Carl Travis to the imprints taken from the discovered skull.

Harmon Rabb Jr. arrived in Boston, got a hotel room and because of the hour knew that he would not be able to reach anyone in charge at the ME's office. He ordered dinner from room service and watched the news, then went to bed leaving a wake-up call for the morning.

He was still not used to wearing a suit to work rather than a uniform. Harm wondered if he ever would get used to it.

Tuesday, 12 August 2003

0930 EST

Medical Examiner's Office

Boston, Massachusetts

Stepping off of the elevator, Harm went up to the young Oriental girl at the reception desk and said, "I need to speak to the person in charge."

"That would be Dr. Macy, who should I tell him is here to see him?" she inquired.

"Com…Harmon Rabb," he stopped before he finished his rank.

She called back to Garret's office to let him know about the visitor and then directed Mr. Rabb to the office. As he walked down the hall, Harm saw Lily and did his quick once over that he did with all women in the twenty to thirty-five age range. He mentally dismissed her as attractive, but not enough so to overlook the fact she was not blonde.

Turning the corner as he had been given directions to do, he stopped in his tracks. There stood the hottest brunette he had ever seen, bar none! Not even Mac, his Ninja girl, looked this hot. This brunette was talking animatedly to a strange looking guy with longish dark hair and an English accent.

Even though he knew where he was going, and could in fact see the door with Macy's name on it from where he stood, Harm just wanted an excuse to talk to her. Stepping up to the two of them, he waited till the English guy was talking to interrupt, "Pardon me, I'm looking for Dr. Macy's office?" he was looking right at Jordan, clearly wanting her to answer him.

Nigel grinned, he had seen that look before, and knew that Jordan would quickly cut this guy down to size. He was surprised when she didn't speak right away, because he had been watching for the look of defeat on the stranger's face at the cutting remark he was expecting from her. Turning to find out what had Jordan's tongue, his mouth dropped open at the bemused look on her face!

Taking matters into his own hands, Nigel said, "Macy's office is right there," and pointed to the door only a few feet away.

Still staring at Jordan, Harm replied, "Thanks." To Jordan, he held out his hand and said, "Harmon Rabb."

"No," she countered, with a wry grin, "I'm Jordan Cavanaugh."

To be continued….


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Harm laughed at the joke as they shook hands, "Do you have plans for lunch, Jordan Cavanaugh?"

"Not at the moment," she answered.

Nigel sighed, thinking, 'How the mighty have fallen,' and walked away.

"You do now."

She was about to reply when Garret came out of his office looking for the man who had been looking for him. Seeing a stranger talking to Jordan, he walked over. "Mr. Rabb?"

"Yes. Dr. Macy?"

"Yes, couldn't you find my office?"

"Actually, I was just making lunch plans," Harm answered continuing to smile at Jordan.

"Well, I have a busy morning, so if you want to talk, it needs to be now."

"Excuse me?" Harm asked Jordan.

"Until lunch," she responded, as Harm followed Garret into his office.

"Other than dates with my staff, how can I help you, Mr. Rabb?"

"I'm here about the Carl Travis case."

"And what case would that be?"

"You do have his remains here, Dr. Macy?"

"What concern is it of yours, Mr. Rabb? Are you a relative?"

"No, however, I am interested in the case."

"I haven't said there was a 'case', yet. Just what IS your interest in Carl Travis?" Garret demanded.

"I am here to make sure that no unauthorized information is released."

"And who are you to decided what is authorized information or not?"

Harm was tired of the back and forth at this point and reached into his pocket and pulled out his CIA ID.

Woody, armed with the picture of Carl Travis, headed over to Clara Rose's shop. The wind chimes attached to the door tinkled merrily as he entered and a purple haired woman peaked out of a curtained alcove. "Hellow, Dearie!" she exclaimed, coming into the shop.

"Ms. Rose, I am…"

She interrupted as she usually did, "That nice Detective Hoyt…are you here about the purse snatcher from last week, or about the mugging that is going to happen in the next two days?"

"Mugging?" Woody questioned, totally distracted now from his original reason for being there. "Why do say there is going to be a mugging?"

"Why, I saw it in the cards Dearie…they have never failed me before…and they never lie…have you ever had a reading…you really should you know…it is very enlightening…if you are open to hearing what the cards have to say…I can tell that you are troubled by a woman….would you like me to consult the cards for you about her?"

"You could tell that I was troubled by a woman?"

"Oh yes, Dearie, it's very clear, would you like me to consult the cards for you?"

"Well, what good could that do? Would it tell me how to get her attention?"

"The cards answer whatever question is put to them…that is why you need to be sure you are asking the question you really want answered…asking how to get her attention could give you an answer like wreck her car…while that would attract her attention I am pretty sure that is not the kind of attention you want from her…am I right?"

"I want to know if she could ever have feelings for me?"

"You could have feelings for a goldfish…now is that really what you mean…or do you mean could she ever love you…and again…you might get a 'yes' she 'could'…but aren't you really wondering if she WILL ever love you?"

"Yes," he answered hesitantly.

"Then come with me and we will ask the cards that!" she led him into the alcove that she had appeared from when he first entered the store. The alcove was tiny; barely a five by five foot space, but it suited its purpose perfectly. The small space was simply lit with candles. There was a round table with three chairs around it. The walls were a deep purple color and the tablecloth shimmered in gold and black. On the table lay a deck of tarot cards that she must have been using when he arrived. Clara indicated a chair, sat in another and gathered up the spread out cards.

To be continued….


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Clara shuffled the cards together to mix them up after the reading she had been doing, then she handed the well-worn deck to Woody and said, "As you shuffle the cards, I want you to think of the question that you want answered. Remember, Dearie, that it should be a true question of your heart, not just something on the surface."

Woody took the cards from her feeling a tiny jolt of electricity pass between them as the cards passed from one pair of hands to the other. Suddenly he felt a bit odd, out of place, and slightly uncomfortable in the charged little alcove. He shifted in his chair, wondering why he was doing this, wondering why he was even here. Then he remembered! The Travis case! He had that photo for her to look at; he wondered if he would ever solve the case and what the outcome would be. Handing her back the cards he was about to pull out the picture when she began to lay out the cards in a pattern that Woody didn't understand.

She turned up the center card and it was the Fool, "This is you in the situation…"

Woody snorted and said, "It figures!"

"Now don't fret, Dearie, it doesn't mean you are a fool, but that you are one seeking knowledge and fulfillment. The next card is the past of the situation she flipped over the Traitor, this means those around the situation are not what they seem." Clara looked at him oddly. She never asked the question that the person she was reading for asked, because she didn't want it to influence her reading, but she had assumed that the young detective would be asking about his ladylove. Somehow she got the feeling that is not what the cards were trying to tell them.

"The next card is the present of the situation, things that are going on right now," Clara flipped it over and said, "This is a man with dark hair, maybe with some gray but he is a strong determined man. He could be the president of a company or a high-powered businessman, everything he does has a purpose and though the reason may be hidden, it is there nonetheless."

"The next card is the immediate future of the situation," she turned it over. "This card says that you will have an inability to make a clear choice on some serious issues. It is a wake up call warning you to pay heed so that is not the case."

After pausing for a minute for him to absorb her words, she placed her hand on the next card. "This card represents the inner workings of the problem." Flipping up the card she said, "There is a blue eyed man who hides secrets. He is well established and has a clear vision, and he is a passionate man. This man will work in secret on the problem."

"The next card is the outer workings of the situation, things happening on the fringe that you have no control of." She placed the card face up, "This is a man who once had extremely dark hair and still has deep dark eyes. He is intense, reserved and always considers his words and actions before speaking or doing things. He has much on his mind and is a deep thinker. Dearie, I don't think you were thinking of your lady when you shuffled the cards! Either that or this lady really gets around with all these men in the situation."

"But that is what I wanted to know about!" Woody exclaimed.

"Well, let's see what else the cards have to say," Clara said reaching for the next card. "This one is something that will help you, at times it is a person, and others it's just advice or something to be on the look out for. This is the World card, telling you that you can have success, but that you need to have greater self-confidence."

"The next card is something that can hinder you; it could be a stumbling block to the final outcome." She revealed the card and gazed at it for a moment. "This card indicates there was a dramatic change to someone, either personality, looks, or maybe even identity. That change could be where your secrets lie!" Clara told him.

"The next card is your hopes and fears in the situation, the card that you have here says that you will have the problem solved, but someone else will do it. You will be on the sidelines watching it unfold. I would say that is your fear, not a hope, Dearie. You need to stay on top of things and watch for the signs that something is happening."

"The last card is the final outcome and here I see The Star card, it usually means a blending of the best of the past and present, but I get a sense that this time it represents a person, maybe it is someone who wears a star, I feel this person holds all the answers to why things happened the way they did and he seems to be tied to the dark eyed man. I am sure of it! It might even be the same man!"

To be continued….


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Clara sat back in her chair and looked over the spread out cards, "Dearie, you were not thinking of your lady when you were handling the cards. There is something much deeper and sinister going on." She waited for him to explain.

"I had just remembered why I was actually here and wondering if the case I was going to ask you about would ever be solved!" Woody reached into his pocket and brought out the picture of Carl Travis.

"I knew it, the cards never lie…you must have been thinking about the case as you shuffled them and not your lady love…shame on you…but I suppose a man with an important job like you would get have many things on his mind…you know a cup of peppermint and rosemary tea would really help you clear your mind and focus better…I'll go make you one…" Clara began to get up from her chair.

"Wait a minute Ms. Rose," Woody said as he slid the picture across the table, "do you recognize this man?"

Clara went pale and sank back in her chair. Woody knew at once that she had seen the man in the picture before. "How? How did you know?" she gasped.

"Know what, Ms. Rose?" he prompted her for more information.

"This is the man I saw killed twenty five years ago!" she said in a hushed tone.

"How can you be sure of that, Ma'am? It was so long ago," Woody needed confirmation.

"You may see people killed everyday in your line of work, detective, but I don't. When I see someone killed, I tend to remember it!" Clara handed the photo back with a shudder.

"Thank you, Ms. Rose, you have been a great help. As this case progresses, I might have some more questions for you, if you wouldn't mind?"

"No, Dearie, anything I can do to help," she said still looking a bit shaken. "Remember to watch out for the blue eyed man and to look for the dark eyed one for help," she said as they walked towards the door of the shop.

"I will, Ma'am," Woody answered her and left.

Tuesday, 12 August 2003

1015 EST

Medical Examiner's Office

Boston, Massachusetts

"What interest does the CIA have in this case, Mr. Rabb?" Garret asked after looking at the ID Harm showed him and then handing it back.

"That I am afraid is 'need to know' and right now there is no indication that you need to know. Now, I would like to talk to the person in charge of the Travis case to find out what they have discovered from the remains."

"Good luck with that one!" Garret gave Harm that wry smile of his. "But then again, you might be able to get more information over lunch."

"I have a lunch date, Dr. Macy. I would like to talk to the person handling the case before that."

Garret walked to the door and holding it open for Harm, he said, "Right this way, Mr. Rabb." The two men walked down the hall to the lab where Bug and Nigel did all their amazing work. Jordan was there hovering behind Nigel as he typed information into the computer.

Entering the room Garret announced, "Mr. Rabb has some questions for you on the Travis case, Dr. Cavanaugh," and left the room as she spun to face Harm.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise, Miss…Dr. Cavanaugh," Harm said, with his famous fly-boy grin flashing.

"And why is that?" she asked stepping into his personal space. Something he would not normally have minded, but the flash in her eyes told him this was not a flirtatious gesture.

"Because I will be working closely with the person handling Carl Travis' remains and since that is you, we should have a pleasant association."

"And just why would you have anything to do with Mr. Travis?"

Harm was pulling out his ID again, when Nigel spun around in his chair to face Jordan exclaiming, "Got it! The bullet that grazed the rib is from the same gun as the bullet that went through the skull!"

"The Travis case?" Harm asked.

To be continued….


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Nigel was about to answer when Jordan stepped in front of him and said, "No, Mr. Rabb, another case I'm working on. We do have more than one case at a time here in the big city! Now, what was your interest in the Travis case?"

"I was about to explain that to you. Could we go to your office?" Harm asked.

She nodded and then turned to Nigel for a moment. "Can you print up those results and get them to me as quickly as possible?"

"Sure," he answered although he was still puzzled about her lie, but knowing Jordan, she had her reasons.

Once in her office, Jordan turned on Harm and again demanded to know why he wanted information on her case. "That's just it, Dr. Cavanaugh, it is no longer YOUR case." Handing her his CIA ID, Harm told her, "I am taking over the case as of now."

"Like hell! I will talk to Macy about this!" Jordan said and started out of the office.

"He already knows, I spoke to him first, that's why he brought me in to see you. My office should be informing the local law enforcement people of the change in jurisdiction as we speak."

In fact, Webb had placed that call earlier, and that was why Woody came storming into Jordan's office just then. He started speaking before spotting Harm in the room. "Jordan, what do you know about CIA involvement in the Travis shooting?" he demanded, and then noticed Harm as he moved. "Who are you?" Woody questioned, instantly jealous of any men in Jordan's vicinity.

"Woody, this is Harmon Rabb, CIA," Jordan introduced them. "Mr. Rabb, Detective Woodrow Hoyt," she added as the two men shook hands.

"Just what is the reason the CIA has interest in this case?" Woody asked.

"I'm sorry, Detective, that is 'need to know' and you don't." As Woody glared at him, Harm continued, "Now, if you will excuse us, Dr. Cavanaugh and I were just about to go over the case."

Jordan shrugged at Woody's outraged look. He left the office angrier than Jordan could remember seeing him in a long time.

"So, Travis was shot? And the bullet-match the English fellow was doing had no connection to the case?" Harm gave her a knowing grin. Before she could even think up a lie, he asked, "Just how many skeletal remains cases do you have at a time?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"The analysis that he was doing was on bones' markings, not bullets found in a body. How many bodies that decayed are you working on at any one time? Or, is it that you are so backed up here in the 'big city' that the bodies are in that condition by the time you get to them?"

Just then, Nigel poked his head into the office and handed her the report on the bone markings and said, "I just saw Woody go storming out. Did you turn the poor bloke down again?"

"I am in a meeting, Nigel! Go away," she ordered as she pushed the door closed. Turning to Harm, she handed him the file with a sarcastic grin.

"So, he was shot twice?" Harm asked, looking at the report without expecting an answer. He glanced at Jordan and gave her his famous 'Fly-boy grin'. "I should have the police reports soon. Maybe there will be something more in them. It's worth checking out."

Jordan knew the report would mention Clara Rose and knew she could get to her before Harm could. Maybe the old lady had more to say than was in the old files. She wondered briefly if she should take Woody with her, but figured that she could tell him later what she found out. Meanwhile, she wanted to get closer to one Harmon Rabb, to see what information he had.

She offered him a seat on the couch and then sat next to him, folding one leg under so she could face him. "So, what can you tell me about Carl Travis? The more I know, the faster I will have a full report for you."

"You believe there was some other cause of death than a bullet to the chest and head?" Harm questioned, giving nothing away.

"Either of the shots could have killed him. The one in his chest would have eventually done the job; the shot to the head would have been instantly fatal. But without tissue or blood to run additional tests on, there is no telling. He could have been poisoned and shot later," she offered.

When Harm just looked at her without speaking, she went on, "We know he was a small man, his bones tell us that much. Maybe Italian or Oriental? But his name would suggest that neither of those were the case."

"Why would his nationality be of any importance?"

"Because if he was…say…Italian…that would lead me to believe in the shooting."

"Why is that?"

"Italians are very hot tempered and carry blood feuds. He could have been a cheating husband killed by his wife's family. Or, since the CIA is involved, maybe it was a drug or weapons deal that went bad?" This time she was determined to wait him out.

To be continued….


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Harm grinned, thinking how far off base she was, and decided to throw her a bone. "Carl Travis was Vietnamese, not Italian, so no blood feud."

"Well, we're waiting for the carbon dating on the bones to give us some idea when all this happened.

If it's recent enough, he might still have family around here."

"When that report comes in, I will need it too. You can leave the tracking down of the family to me. I just need the time and cause of death from you."

'Does he really think I am that naive?' Jordan thought, but she just smiled and nodded.

"So, are we still on for lunch today?" Harm asked.

"Sure, why not," she said. Hiding the elation she felt at the prospect of getting more information out of him. Jordan knew from experience, once that first slip was made, the rest came much easier.

He grinned at her, and suggested that he meet her here at noon.

Jordan agreed, figuring that would give her enough time for a quick visit to Clara Rose.

Entering Clara's shop, and seeing the woman for the first time, Jordan was sorry she had teased Woody about this woman being wacky! She was odd, even by Jordan's standards! The purple hair and the far out glasses were just the beginning. Clara had on more necklaces and bracelets than Jordan owned! She wore a floor length caftan and what Jordan's mother used to call house shoes. She was definitely a sight.

"Helloooo, Dearie…aren't you a pretty little thing…you know there was a day when I was young and slim like you, and OH did the boys chase me…but I would never let them catch me because that wouldn't have been proper…but I bet you've been caught Dearie…a young pretty girl like you…"

Jordan jumped into the soliloquy for fear Clara would never stop talking if she didn't. "Ms. Rose, I'm here about the murder you reported twenty five years ago."

"Oh, Dearie, are you with the police?"

"No, I'm with the ME's office," Jordan told her. At Clara's blank stare, she elaborated, "The Medical Examiners office."

"Oh…just like Quincy! Pity they took that show off the air…that Quincy was one incredible doctor…too bad he only worked on dead folks…he was so handsome…and his partner Sam was good looking too…even if he was a foreigner…I bet you have a partner too Dearie?"

"Well, I'm working with Detective Hoyt on the case. We…"

"Oh…so you are the nice Detective's lady!…you must let me read the cards for you…his reading didn't go as planned…" Clara took Jordan by the hand and led her into the small alcove. Handing her the cards she gave the same instructions she had given Woody.

"Really, I didn't come here for this, I just came to ask some questions!" Jordan protested.

"Oh, but, Dearie, all questions can be answered by the cards! The cards know all!"

"Do they know what you saw twenty five years ago?" Jordan inserted.

"Why, whatever do you mean, Dearie?" Clara asked.

"I am trying to find out more about what you witnessed twenty five years ago. If you could go over it with me, I would appreciate it very much."

"Certainly, Dearie!" she said with enthusiasm. "I saw the car pull up and three men got out…then two of them were talking in a language I didn't understand…the third one didn't say anything until after the shouting started…one of the little men…not little green men you understand…just little men…kinda like Mr. Sulu from Star Trek…that was a great show…I will never understand how their five year mission ended in only three years…started running…then the shooting started…"

Jordan was lost for a moment in all the babble, then shook her head to clear it and asked, "Shooting? Do you remember how many shots were fired?"

"Of course I do, Dearie…I'm not senile you know…I may be a bit dotty…but not senile…there were three…in all…but by that time I was on the floor…well…not really on the floor…but bending down to the floor to pick up the pieces of my tea mug…I had dropped it…and it broke…it was my favorite…it was blue…and had roses on it…I was sort of hiding from the men…so they wouldn't see me…"

"Three shots?" Jordan interrupted; afraid that if she didn't the woman would chatter on all day. "We only found signs of two bullets."

"Oh, that's because one of them hit the telephone pole out there!"

"How do you know that?" Jordan demanded.

"Well Dearie…when I called the police…I got to talk to that nice Officer Mitchell…they didn't come until the next day…not Officer Mitchell you understand…when they did get here…two nice detectives…I knew they were detectives you see…they were wearing plain clothes…like in that show Dragnet…they didn't find a body…or bullets…or even any blood …they said that they didn't find anything…"

"Shot twice and no blood?"

"Well…after the shooting there had been a bad rain…so of course…all that poor dear man's blood had been washed away…he was very polite when I talked to him…"

"You TALKED to him!"

To be continued….


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Through my Ouija board of course…he wanted to get a message to his wife and child…but the name the board kept spelling was gobble-de-gook to me…I couldn't find it in the phone book…and I always felt bad that I couldn't deliver his message…anyways…the man asked me to look for another bullet…he said that he he'd only been shot twice…I went to look around…but I had to lock up first…I mean even back then there were criminals…after all I was on my way to investigate a murder…I looked around on the ground…I'm sure glad the rain had washed away the blood…it would have given me the heebie-jeebies…I couldn't find it anywhere…so…I got thinking…what would Steve McGarret do…you know…that handsome detective from Hawaii-five-O…he had a lot of foreigners on his team too…just like Quincy…"

"Foreigners? I thought they were Hawaiians?" Jordan said in confusion, finally snapping out of the mesmerizing effect of Clara's babble.

"Well, they were funny looking," she said if her defense, "well…where…other than the ground could it be? And a little voice in the back of my head said…what about the telephone pole? So I looked…I always do what the little voices in my head tell me…and there it was!…"

"So what you would have me believe is that an Ouija board told you that Mr. Travis was shot twice and that the third bullet was in the telephone pole?" she interrupted the older lady.

"No…no…no…you have it all wrong…well not all wrong…the Ouija board told me…well actually that poor dead man through the Ouija board…I'm not crazy you know…the board's just a tool after all…it was the voices in my head that told me to look for the bullet in the telephone pole…well not IN the telephone pole…"

When Clara paused for a breath, something that Jordan honestly believed that she didn't do often, she jumped in and asked, "So you say the third bullet in the pole? I'll go look and see if it's there."

"No, it's not…" Clara started to say.

"How do you know?" Jordan was quick to ask.

Clara grinned at her guest happily and announced, "Because Dearie, I used my handy dandy nail file…a woman should always carry one…you know when you might need one…to dig it out of the pole…"

"You WHAT?"

"Oh Dearie, are you hard of hearing?"

"No, of course not!"

"Well you keep questioning everything I am saying…or is it that you just don't believe me…I get that a lot you know…so many doubt the mystic arts these days…why in my day…when I was young and pretty like you…well not quite like you…I always wore my hair shorter and had to wear glasses since I was a child…some people believe that men don't make passes at girls that wear glasses…but I can tell you that isn't true…I had my share of men making passes at me…I can tell you!" Clara stated, as if she thought Jordan might not believe her.

"Now Ms. Rose, I never said that I didn't believe you!" Though Jordan doubted that Clara had ever been attractive. "But you know what you did was tampering with evidence. That bullet could've been very important to the murder investigation," she scolded her.

"But if it was so important then why didn't they ask about it all those years ago…or for that matter ask me about how many shots were fired…and to tell you the truth even though that Detective Jenkins was a good kisser…but he couldn't have looked around very hard because if I found the bullet he surely could have."

At her mention of the kiss, Jordan remembered the mistletoe. She looked around the shop and sure enough, there it hung right over the main walkway to the door.

"I see you noticed my mistletoe…I keep it up all year round…to promote the spirit of Christmas…well…and to allow me to kiss the good looking men that come in…I just put up a fresh sprig every Christmas and leave it up all year…but I'd already said that…you should bring that nice Detective Hoyt in with you and catch him under it…he has a 'thing' for you Dearie…and when you see him next…remind him to watch out for the blue eyed man…he really is going to be trouble for him."

Hearing Ms. Rose mention a blue-eyed man reminded Jordan that she had plans for lunch with a blue-eyed man, one Harmon Rabb. Turning to start for the door, Jordan said, "Thank you for your time Ms. Rose, I just wish you had left the bullet alone. I could really have used it to help me ID the gun."

"That wouldn't have been possible Dearie…that old pole has been replaced at least twice over the years…once it was from old age…and the other time it was hit and cracked by a drunk driver…so they replaced it again…"

By this time in Clara's ceaseless prattle Jordan had reached the door and was about to make good her escape when she heard, "So I guess it was a good thing that I kept it all these years, isn't it?"

To be continued….


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Spinning around, Jordan demanded, "You still have the bullet you dug out of that pole twenty-four years ago?"

"Isn't that what I just said? Dearie are you sure that you shouldn't have your hearing checked…you know there's nothing to be ashamed of in admitting that you have a problem…"

"Ms. Rose…"

"I mean these days they have hearing aids so small you can't even see them…and with your long brunette hair no one would ever know…"

"Ms. Rose!"

"And you know doctors these days are so young and cute that I'm almost embarrassed to undress in front of mine…not that you would have to undress to have your hearing checked…or at least you shouldn't…"

"MS. Rose!"

"But if the doctor was cute enough you could ask if you could undress anyway…but then I'm forgetting that you and that nice Detective Hoyt are involved…"

"MS. ROSE!"

"Yes Dearie?" she asked as if she hadn't been babbling on endlessly not letting Jordan get a word in edgewise.

"You were going to tell me about the bullet you found!" Jordan stressed in exasperation.

"What more is there to tell you Dearie…unless of course you want to see it…I wrapped it in a hankie…a white one with lace on the edges and tucked it into a pea green tea mug with huge cabbage roses on it that a customer gave me…as a gift you know…just because it had roses on it and my name was Rose…well it still is…but it was then too…cuz I've never been married…although I was close a time or two…but it is the ugliest tea mug you have ever seen…although I couldn't tell my customer that…so I found an important use for it…"

"Ms. Rose! Could you possibly go and get the bullet for me?" Jordan nearly shouted.

"Oh Dearie …I'm not the one who's hard of hearing…are you sure you wouldn't like to come up for a calming cup of tea? I could make us both a nice cup…I would use my best tea cups and we could chat about the men in our lives…though with me it would all be memories at this point…but I can tell you that it wasn't always that way…I'm sure that you would have some juicy stories to tell about the men that you've known…"

Having once again been reminded about men, Jordan looked at her watch and knew that if she didn't leave right now she was going to be late for her lunch date with Harm, but she had to get that bullet. If Mr. CIA found his way to Ms. Rose before Jordan got it, she knew she'd never see the bullet. "Ms. Rose, I would love to stay and chat…really I would…but I do have a lunch date with a handsome man and it would be rude to keep him waiting…" Jordan trailed off hoping Clara would take the hint.

She did, "Oh Dearie sometimes it's good to keep them waiting so they know their place…but that sweet Detective Hoyt cares for you so much that I'm sure he'll treat you right…I'll just go up and get it now and maybe you can come back one day soon and tell me all about your date!"

Suiting actions to words, Clara hurried off at quite a brisk pace for a lady so large. She was back in the store shortly and pressed the ugliest mug into Jordan's hands that she had ever seen.

When Jordan tried to take the piece of cloth out of it and return the mug, Clara said, "No Dearie you take that mug with you…it has kept that bullet safe all these years and it can just keep on doing it…it was a gift to me…and now I make it a gift to you…and…if you were to ACCIDENTALLY lose it…or break it…then…I wouldn't have to know about it…and it wouldn't be my fault…and finally I can be rid of that ugly thing at last!"

"Thank you Ms. Rose, I'm certain this…will be a big help in our investigation," Jordan said, eyeing the mug with a shudder.

"Oh, it was no trouble at all Dearie…I just wonder why no one ever asked me about it…you hurry along now…you don't want to keep that handsome young man waiting…and be sure to remember me to him…oh, and just so you know…I restrained myself from kissing him under the mistletoe…he was so clearly involved and I never want to interfere with men that are taken…I would have kissed that other detective all those years ago…but he was married and even though I knew there were problems in his marriage…I didn't want to be a home-wrecker…"

"That other detective was my father, Ms. Rose!" Jordan snapped.

To be continued….


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"Really…ummm, well of course I knew that…you have his eyes after all…and I knew even then that he had a daughter…look at you all grown up now…I am sure they are very proud of you, Dearie…I bet they are counting the days until they have grandchildren…I'm know you and that handsome detective will have…"

"My mother died quite some time ago, Ms. Rose," Jordan interrupted.

"Oh dear…how sad…growing up without a mother can be so hard on a young girl…at least my sister and I had each other when our mother died so young…but I wonder if your father remembers me…he was such a handsome strapping man…and I'm betting that he still is…isn't he?"

"Yes he is Ms. Rose, and he does remember you. In fact he was talking about you just the other night!"

"He does? He was? How sweet…I should find a way of contacting him again…" Clara trailed off as she thought about ways of finding Max.

Knowing her father would kill her if he ever found out where Clara got the information, but figuring it would also be a small payback for all the strict rules he'd laid down in her childhood, Jordan eagerly said, "He runs a bar downtown, it's called Flanagan's. I'm sure he'd love you to drop by for a visit," she said trying to conceal her smirk.

Clara's eyes lit up at hearing this. She patted her hair and said, "Maybe I should change my hair color…I've had it this way for years…what is your father's favorite color, Dearie?"

Trying to suppress a grin at the sight of Clara at the start of a manhunt, she replied, "Well, he has two. Navy blue because he used to be a cop and Kelly green because he's Irish."

"Oh dear…now I'll have to choose…luckily since my glasses are black any color will go with them…since it was so long ago that he was a cop…I might skip the blue and go with the green… because he'll always be Irish!" she concluded triumphantly. "Or I could do both…"

Jordan had to admire the reasoning even as she suppressed a shudder at the thought of green hair. "I really must go now Ms. Rose, I'm going to be late for my date as it is."

"Alright Dearie…just be sure to stop back in and see me some time soon…but you know if your father and I start up a romance we might be seeing a lot of each other…" Clara trailed off at the dream of having a man of her own.

It was at that time that Jordan managed to make good her escape, torn between delight and guilt at what she had just set in motion.

Arriving back at the office Jordan encountered Lily as she stepped off the elevator. "Jordan, there's a man waiting for you in your office, he said the two of you have a lunch date."

Jordan was about to reply when Lily gasped and reached out to touch the mug in Jordan's hand. "Where did you get that mug?"

"From Clara Rose. Isn't it just the most…" 'Hideous mug in the world?' is what Jordan was going to say, when Lily interrupted her.

"The most wonderful thing ever? I had a mug just like that when I was little. I used it all the time until my brother purposely broke it one day when he was mad at me. You're so lucky to have it!" Lily told her, as she caressed the outside of the mug.

Scooping the handkerchief with the bullet wrapped up in it out of the mug, Jordan tried to hand the horrible thing to Lily. "You take it then Lily, I can see how much it means to you."

"Oh no Jordan! I couldn't take it from you!" Lily protested still stroking the mug.

"Please Lily, I want you to have it!" Jordan insisted, practically shoving it into Lily's hands.

Just then Harm came into the hall. "I thought I heard your voice. Did you forget about our date?" he asked Jordan.

"No, I just got delayed on a case," she told him as she quickly stuffed the hankie into her pocket. "But I'm ready to go now if you still want to?"

"Of course I still want to. I've been looking forward to having lunch with a beautiful young woman all day," he said flashing her a grin.

Having stepped out of the elevator just then Nigel smirked, "Young?" looking directly at Jordan.

She gave Nigel a 'look of death', grabbed Harm by the elbow, and maneuvered him into the still open elevator.

To be continued….


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Lily was still admiring her new mug as the elevator doors closed. Realizing she was alone in the hall she took her prize to the break room where she lovingly washed it off. Then to her desk where she placed it carefully so Jordan would see her use it every day and know how much she liked her gift.

Harm and Jordan got to the restaurant, once their coffee arrived and the waiter was gone, Jordan asked, "So Harm, why don't you tell me all about yourself?"

"What would you like to know?" he asked, with a big smile, glad she was interested.

"Tell me the highlights," was her reply.

"Well, I lost my father when I was six, he was a Navy pilot and went down in Viet Nam on Christmas Eve 1969. The Navy was in my blood and I became a pilot too. I developed a problem with my eyes and had to switch careers, so I turned to the law. Several years later my partner went on a mission where she was captured and our CO…sorry Commanding Officer, ordered me not to go after her. So I resigned my commission to save her."

"Surely your CO had his reasons for not letting you go…" Jordan said, pleased that he was revealing so much.

"Yeah, but I disagreed with them. When we returned he wouldn't reinstate my commission, the CIA approached me with a job offer. I've been with them ever since."

"Wow, that's some life you've had!"

"It has been interesting. Now what about you?"

"Well, I also lost a parent young. My father tried to raise me, but he was a cop so I spent a lot of time on my own. I worked here at the Boston ME's office, until I left over a disagreement with my boss too. I moved around some, but came back home to Boston a bit ago and got my old job back."

"We seem to have quite a lot in common."

"Yes, it does seem that way," pleased that her ploy had worked.

"Your boss didn't think we would be able to work well together, but I have a feeling we're going to get along just fine!" he told her, as he reached across the table, taking her hand and squeezed it warmly.

Thinking she had him right where she wanted him, Jordan smiled and agreed.

'I've got her right where I want her,' Harm thought as their food arrived and he let go of her so they could eat.

As they started eating Jordan's cell phone rang, she saw the call was from Woody. She knew that he would want to talk about what had happened in her office that morning and that she couldn't talk about it in front of Harm, so she just ignored the call.

"Someone you're avoiding?" Harm asked when she put away the phone unanswered.

"Someone I know who will want to chat, and I'd rather focus my attention on you," she offered with a flirtatious smile.

They were about halfway through the meal when Jordan asked as casually as she could, "So, why is the CIA interested in a twenty-five year old murder case?"

"How do you know it was murder?"

"Well, he could have shot himself twice, if he was trying to commit suicide and had realized that the first shot wouldn't have been fatal."

"There you are then…" he answered, not wanting to tell her that he hadn't been told much about the case at all before he arrived.

"However, most people, when they decide to put a gun to their head, point it at their temple area…not the back of their heads!" she informed him with barely concealed glee.

"Maybe he wanted it to look like a murder. I mean my arms are long enough that if I wanted that to be the conclusion drawn, I could shoot myself in the back of my head."

"Yes, but could you do it from at least three feet away? Then hide the gun so it wasn't found with your body…oh, and bury yourself as well?"

To be continued….


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"Those details weren't in the report you gave me!" he protested.

"That's because the report I gave you was Nigel's ballistic report. My autopsy report is still on my desk."

"And why didn't you give me that report?" he frowned at her.

"You didn't ask for it," she told him with a self-satisfied smile.

Shaking a finger at her and flashing a smile in return, he replied, "I can see that I'm going to have to watch you, very closely!"

"And I'll be watching you, too," Jordan said with a smile. "You still didn't tell me what the CIA's interest in this man is, and don't give me any of that 'need to know' crap. We're either working together on this, or we're not!"

"Now Jordan, you know I can't reveal classified information."

"If that's how you want to play it, Mister Rabb," she said, wiping her mouth on her napkin and sliding back from the table a bit to indicate she was done.

"Now Jordan, don't be like that. You have to understand, there's classified information in your job as well," he said, reaching out to take her hand, but was not able to when she pulled it out of his reach.

"Yes, I do, and I also learned how to keep confidential information, but if you don't trust me…"

"I'm sure that you're a person to be trusted, but in my line of work…"

She jumped into the middle of that statement with, "Don't give me that! You said you'd only been with the CIA a short time. You're Navy trained, and that means you know the value of teamwork. In fact you chucked your career to go and save your partner…was that because she was your partner, or was it because she was a helpless female that needed a big strong man to save her?"

"My partner was…. still is, a Marine!"

Jordan leaned forward with her elbows on the table and her hands supporting her chin as she whispered, "So it was teamwork!"

"Yes, you have me there," he leaned forward and whispered back. "But you have to assure me that what ever I tell you doesn't go any farther than this. That means your friend Detective Hoyt can't be let into the loop."

"Alright," Jordan agreed, knowing there were several ways of getting any information Woody needed to him without telling him herself.

Lowering his voice so no one at the tables nearby could hear him, Harm said, "Carl Travis was in the witness protection program."

"So that wasn't his real name!" Jordan exclaimed.

"Shh!…No, he was given a new identity, why?" Harm asked.

"Well, Travis certainly didn't sound Vietnamese," she told him, thinking that Clara Rose might have gotten his real name…what am I thinking…she got the name from an Ouija board? 'But then again the woman had found the third bullet when Jenkins hadn't, and she did say his name was unrecognizable to her…well, okay, that wasn't the word she used, but Jordan would be damned if she would even think about that silly word …Good Lord! Now I'm even starting to ramble like her!'

Jordan was brought back to the present when Harm waved his hand in front of her face to get her attention. "Where in the world did you get off to?" he asked, a bit miffed that here he was sharing 'Company secrets' and he couldn't hold her attention.

"Oh, sorry, I was just thinking…ummm…how hard it must be to do that. Leave all your family and friends and never see them again, change your life completely overnight. It would be rough, I don't know that I could do it."

"I know about changing your life like that…"

"Oh, you had to leave all your friends, your family, change your name…"

"Well, I guess it wasn't that big of a change for me…"

"So you don't really know what he went through?"

"Um, I guess not," he reluctantly admitted.

"It's okay," she said reaching out and taking his hand. "I'm sorry, I got caught up in that, I get a bit over zealous at times, or so I've been told," she said smiling at Harm. "Let me make it up to you. Are you free tomorrow night? I'll make dinner for us at my place."

All the while thinking, 'And have a much better chance of finding out what he knows if I'm distracting him, maybe my red dress…'

"Dinner sounds delightful," he said, knowing when he was being played, but this seemed the best way to continue plying her for information.

Harm was paying the bill when it suddenly hit Jordan that since Aunt Merry's fiancé was the head of the Navy lawyers, he might have been the 'boss' Harm was talking about. As they walked together back to her office, she asked, "So you were a Navy lawyer, does that mean you were in the Judge Advocate General's offices?"

"Yeah, I was a Commander."

"Wow! And you weren't the boss?" she said, pretending not to know the answer.

To be continued….


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Well, no," Harm sighed. "My next rank would have been Captain. Our 'boss' was a two star."

"General?" Jordan questioned.

"No. In the Navy it's Admiral. Rear Admiral AJ Chegwidden to be exact."

'So I was right! AJ had been his boss. I wonder if Harm knows he's in town with my aunt?' she thought. 'Hmm, maybe AJ will tell me more about Harm?' but all that she said aloud was, "I guess I don't know much about the military. But cops now are a different story! Since my dad was one, I know all about them!"

Harm chuckled understandingly and since they had arrived at the ME's office, said, "I will see you tomorrow Jordan."

"In a professional way, or a non-professional way?" she asked with a sly smile.

Now he was back on familiar footing, she was flirting with him! "Non of course!" he assured her with a wink. "I mean, dinner at your place," and with a cheerful wave he stepped to the curb to hail a cab.

"About six?" she called, feeling a bit flustered at having forgotten the invitation.

"1800 it is," he said as he got in the cab.

When she got to her office, she found two messages from Woody on her answering machine, plus the one that the receptionist had handed her when she walked by the front desk. You would think he wanted to talk to her or something! With a sigh, she picked up the phone and hit his number on the speed-dial. Waiting for him to answer, she opened the Travis file that was on the top of her desk. 'I can keep secrets too, Mister CIA-man!' she thought, placing the file in her bottom drawer and locking it with a self-satisfied grin.

Suddenly, Woody was shouting in her ear, "Jordan where the hell have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you for hours!"

"I know, I had my phone off, I was at lunch with Harm… I knew we couldn't talk in front of him…"

"Harm! Lunch? As in date? Isn't that moving pretty fast, you just met him this morning?" Woody protested.

"I was trying to get more info out of him about Travis."

"Oh…" he seemed a bit mollified by that statement. "And, did you?"

"As a matter of fact I did, but I had to promise him not to tell you…"

"Jordan!"

"Now cool your jets Woody! I was thinking you could come to the bar tonight after work and if you just happened to overhear me talking to dad about the case…well, I wouldn't be telling you, now would I?"

"Yeah, I guess that could work," he grumbled.

"I also have something to tell you about my visit with Clara Rose earlier."

"You went to see her without me?"

"I was in a hurry, and was late for my lunch da…meeting. And you know how she can ramble on!"

"And just what did the she have to say?"

"Other than she did a card reading for you?" Jordan asked.

Woody knew she was smirking, he could hear it in her voice, so he tried to bluff it out, "she wouldn't talk to me any other way."

"Really? Are we talking about the same Clara Rose? The one who couldn't stop babbling if her life depended on it?"

"She dragged me into that alcove of hers…"

"Now Woody, I really didn't think you were the kind to kiss and tell!"

To be continued….


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"I didn't kiss her!" Woody nearly shouted.

"I know," Jordan laughed.

"How do you know!"

"She told me…" she hesitated, not wanting to get in to what Clara had said about her and Woody, and just finished with a weak, "Ummmm…so..."

"Well, what was it you wanted to tell me Jordan?" Woody said quickly, relieved at her obvious change of subject.

"Well…She told me three shots had been fired, we only found evidence of two hitting him, so it had to be there somewhere. After she talked to Travis…"

"She talked to him?"

"Oh sorry, um yeah, she 'talked' to him….after he was dead….um, through her Ouija board."

"Oh gee…"

"My thought exactly! But then, she gave me the bullet! She'd dug it out of the telephone pole twenty four years ago!"

"WHAT?"

"Yep, I was just about to go and have Nigel try and match it to the markings we found on the bones."

"Does anyone else know about this?"

"Nope, I didn't even mention it to Harm while he was pumping me for information."

"Good girl! I'll be right over!" he said ending the call.

"I thought you might," she said with a grin to the dead receiver in her hand, 'But you will answer for calling me 'girl'!' she thought as she hung up as well. Passing by Lily's desk on the way to the lab, Jordan saw the hideous pea-green mug in a place of honor on the desk. Shaking off a shudder, she went to have a talk with Nigel.

Nigel had been about to tell Jordan his findings when Woody came rushing into the lab. "You're just in time for the news," Jordan told him.

"Well…" Nigel began, giving his flare for the theatrical full reign. "First off, I didn't just match the markings from the bullet to the bone…" he paused for dramatic effect, "I even found something more, something to titillate the mind!" he stopped again, almost as if waiting for applause.

"Come on Nigel!" Woody demanded.

Jordan on the other hand, knew better than to deny Nigel his drama. That would just make him take even longer to get to the point.

He gave Jordan a look that both thanked her for being patient and foretold that he was about make Woody pay. "Now Woodrow, you can't hurry the master!" Nigel scolded, and after a long pause, in which Woody wisely said nothing, he continued, "I also ran a DNA test on the bone marrow that was left after all those years…"

"What for?" Woody interrupted.

With a sigh, Jordan took a seat, 'Wouldn't Woody ever learn? But, that's part of his boyish charm I guess,' she thought as Nigel continued to draw out his moment in the spotlight.

She was busy mentally cataloging all of the Wisconsin Woody-isms that she had the privilege to witness when the words 'blood sample' drew her back to the lab. "Say that again!" she demanded.

Glad to have another opportunity to pat himself on the back, Nigel said, "Upon closer examination of the bullet, I found blood! That's why I did the DNA test on the bone marrow."

"Wow Nigel, that's great! The third bullet must have hit him after all. Maybe Travis was in too much pain from the other shots to have noticed it," Jordan exclaimed.

"Huh?" Nigel questioned.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you, Carl Travis told Ms. Rose that he'd only been shot twice when she talked to him."

To be continued….


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"She talked to him?" Nigel blurted out.

"Yeah, through her Ouija board," Jordan said with a smile.

"She talked to him? Wow! Really! That's awesome! Blimey, she must have the 'second sight' as my granny used to call it! I'll have to go and have a chat with her myself."

That was NOT the reaction Jordan was expecting, but knowing Nigel as she did, she should have known better.

"Hey! Can we get back to the business at hand?" Woody grumbled, frustrated with all the nonsense.

"But Clara Rose is much more inter…" Nigel started to say and then seeing the looks on both their faces, stopped. "Okay…the DNA from the blood matches that from the bone marrow, so that means that the bullet definitely hit Carl Travis. The markings on it are the same as on the bones, so all three bullets came from the same gun, a Makarov 9.5mm, they were made in the early 1950's to replace theTokarev," Nigel concluded with a flourish.

"Wow, now all we need to do is find the gun," Woody enthused.

"Yeah…that's all…" Jordan said sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Harm had gotten back to the hotel and discovered that the police reports had been delivered. Going over them, he found what he already knew, that Travis had a wife and child at the time of his disappearance. Since they had never known he was part of the witness protection program, they were of no relevance to the CIA, then or now. Checking the report one last time, Harm noticed a penciled note at the bottom, it said there might be a link between the Travis case and a shooting reported by a woman named Clara Rose that same night. The note was signed Detective Cavanaugh…Cavanaugh, he wondered briefly, could he have been some relation to Jordan?

The weird looking English guy at the ME's office discovered that Travis had been shot. So, it was likely that Detective Cavanaugh had it right all those years ago, and the two cases were related.

He didn't have that report, Clayton Webb hadn't known to ask for it, so he decided to try the direct approach. Sure enough, Clara Rose was listed in the phone book. He jotted down the address and had the valet bring around the car the Company had arranged for his use.

The location turned out to be an apartment above a garish looking "psychic" shop. Harm got no answer to his repeated knocking, so decided to see if someone downstairs might have an idea of where Ms. Rose was.

An annoying bell jangled loudly as he walked in and he saw, what he could only pray, was an apparition behind the counter. When it actually turned to greet him, this…woman? Became every man's worst nightmare of what his blind date will look like when told 'she has a wonderful personality'! She…well, he still wasn't sure it was a woman, moved out from behind the counter like a flower covered float in a parade.

"Hellooo Dearie…my, aren't you a handsome one…what can I help you with today…something sweet smelling for you wife…or girlfriend…or both?" Clara asked as she approached him.

"I'm not married, or involved at this time. I am actually looking for the woman that lives upstairs…"

"Well what do you know…it's been a long time since a good looking single man's came looking for me…not that there weren't plenty of you…not to mean that there is more than one of you…just that there were many good looking single men looking for me in my younger days…not that I haven't aged well you understand…I mean you might be one of those younger men that likes older women…you see them all the time on Sally Jessie Raphael or Jerry Springer…so you want me young man?"

"Only if you're Clara Rose…and I don't want you…I want to talk to you," Harm told her sharply, feeling like the last piece of cake at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.

"Oh I am Clara Rose…and don't you give me that 'talk' nonsense…they all start out saying they want to talk and then it turns into more…just because I have a few years on me doesn't mean that I don't know about those 'date rape' drugs and such…"

"I'll have you know I've never had to drug a woman to get her to sleep with me in my life!" Harm protested.

"I'm sure you haven't young man…with those sexy blue bedroom eyes of yours…I bet you just flash them a smile and the women throw themselves into your bed…well I can tell you that I am not THAT kind of girl and like the song says…'If you're not in it for love…you're outta here'…because I plan to 'Stand By My Man' once I get married…"

"I am NOT going to marry you!" he practically shouted.

"Well then, that condom you carry in your wallet can just stay right where it is…"

To be continued….


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"How the hell do you know I have a condom in my wallet?" Harm demanded.

"Didn't you read the sign on the door…I'm physic…silly boy!" Clara chuckled.

"Listen, I'm here to ask you about a shooting you witnessed," he said through clenched teeth.

"Oh the Carl Travis murder…well why didn't you say so when you came in…instead of leading me on like you did…you have a habit of doing that don't you…of course you do…letting a woman think you want a serious relationship when all you really want is an easy conquest…shame on you…that's no way to treat the gentler sex…our feelings can be hurt too you know!"

Harm just stared at this woman in open-mouthed shock, or she at least claimed she was a woman, well she had said girl, but she was as far from a girl as anyone could get. How could she even think he could possibly want her? "Madam, I simply want to ask you a few questions and then I will leave you in peace, or since you claim to be physic, maybe you can tell me what I want to know without my asking any questions at all."

"Well…I can tell you that you're unhappy in your current job…and that you will do something to sabotage it whether subconsciously or not…I also see a sandy blonde girl in your future…but right now you're more focused on a brunette….although you should leave her alone she belongs with someone else…you are also not comfortable in that suit…you keep thinking there should be something over your left breast pocket…how am I doing so far?"

"You didn't answer a single question that I came in here to ask you," he assured her, all the while thinking 'how in the hell did she know so much about my life? Maybe Webb had put her up to this little act? But how could he have known I would find this witness…oh hell…the same way Webb seems to know everything! He was a spook after all…look who was talking…I'm a spook these days too! Gads, now I'm babbling like her!' His head felt like it was spinning. 'The odors in here must be getting to me,' he consoled himself.

"Ah, but every word I said was true…as for the questions you are talking about…your answers are…whatever you like…everything…I could if I knew who you worked for…I don't just tell everything I know to just anyone, you know!"

"What am I supposed to make of that mess? I came in here to ask what you remember about the night Carl Travis was killed. And to see if you could give me any more details than were in the police report!" Harm sputtered when Clara finished speaking.

"I know…and I answered you already!" Clara responded remaining cheerful although her tone had changed a bit, she now sounded as if she were explaining something simple to someone even simpler.

"Madam, I wanted to know…"

"I know what you wanted to know…you asked, what am I supposed to make of that mess…and I said…whatever you like…you said, I came in here to ask what you remember about the night Carl Travis was killed…and I told you, everything…I am not senile you know!…then you wanted to know if I could give you any more details than what was in the police report…and I said…I could if I knew who you worked for…so there you see…I did answer you…but if you want anymore answers I need to know who you are working for…would it be that nice Detective Hoyt…or do you work under that nice Dr. Cavanaugh…and don't you give me any of that 'well I'd love to be under her'…I know a man like you always wants to be in control and would need to be the one to start things and to be on top…"

"Ms. ROSE, will you please stop talking!" Harm snapped.

"Now that's not very nice! You come in here wanting information from me and when I am giving it to you…you tell me to shut up!"

"I did not tell you to shut up!" he protested.

"No…but you were thinking it loud and clear…why I could hear it as clearly as I hear the voices in my head when they are speaking to me!"

"You hear voices?" Harm felt like his head was about to explode.

"I know I just said that…do you have problems with your hearing…you know they make very small hearing aids these days that are very hard to see…but with your hair as short as it is it would be harder to hide…you should think about growing it longer…but then if you are on the police force you might not be able to do that…by the way…you never did say who you work for…"

"Don't you KNOW?"

To be continued….


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

"Well…I doubt that nice Detective Hoyt would let someone as rude as you work on his team…that is why foreigners are the best partners…they are usually so polite…and I'm sure that your macho outlook wouldn't allow you to work for a woman…then there is the way you always answer a questions with a question…very much like a lawyer would…you seem used to that…but since I can't see why a lawyer would want to ask me questions about this…that only leaves the FBI or the CIA…both work in secret…they call their agents spooks you know…are you a spook young man?"

Harm was so caught up in her prattle that he broke the first rule of spook school, he answered her without thinking, "Yes, I am…no I'm not…" he stuttered to a stop, took a deep breath and started again. "Madam, I am NOT here to answer your questions. I'm here to get mine answered!"

"And I answered every question you had young man…and I really wish you would not call me 'Madam'…it makes me sound like the leader in a house of women of ill-repute…like Dolly Parton in that movie 'The Best Little…well excuse my French…Whorehouse In Texas'…and while she has a good figure…like mine…I just can't abide that fake hair of hers!"

He felt like his head was about to explode from trying to sort out the relevant information from the utter nonsense this woman was spouting. She could teach a class at 'spook school' on the art of distraction. Harm doubted even Webb himself was this masterful at appearing to cooperate fully while giving absolutely nothing away. Realizing that his mind had drifted while Ms. Rose had continued to babble on, he tuned back in to find he really hadn't missed much, she was still going on about fake hair and who did, or didn't, wear it.

She was saying, "Now that handsome Captain Kirk from Star Trek wore fake hair too…and you know…come to think of it…the man who played him…that William Shatner was a foreigner too…from Canada I think…"

Harm found himself thinking he would have to tell Bud he'd found another Trekkie…then wistfully remembered that he wouldn't be seeing him when he got back from Boston…unless he made a special effort to do…now that he was no longer on the JAG staff. He shook his head and tried to snap his attention back to the present, he had to get his questions answered and get out of here as quickly as possible. He interrupted Clara, who was still talking. "Ms. Rose! If you could just answer a few specific questions with succinct…brief answers, I can let you get back to work."

"Alrighty, as soon as you tell me who you work for…and for that matter you never even told me your name."

"I am Harmon Rabb, CIA," he told her, pulling out his ID and showing it to her.

"Okay then, ask away," she said with a smile.

"The report mentioned that you were coming from the kitchen with a cup of tea when you saw the shooting, is that correct?"

"Yes, chamomile, and no," Clara replied…briefly.

"What?"

With a beleaguered sigh, Clara said, "Yes…I was coming from the kitchen. The tea was… chamomile…and no…I didn't see the shooting."

"The report said; you saw a dark colored car pull up, three men get out, heard some yelling, and then saw Carl Travis shot twice. Is that true or not?"

"Part of it is true."

Harm gave her a moment to elaborate and when he realized she was doing exactly what he had told her to do in keeping her answers as brief as possible, he prompted, "Which part was true?"

"All but the last part."

"So you didn't see Carl Travis get shot?"

"Yes I did."

"But you just implied that the last part of my question wasn't true!"

"That's correct."

Desperately wanting anything other than more of her 'explanation', he asked, "Ms. Rose, could you please explain yourself?"

To be continued….


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

"I only saw him shot once," Clara stated.

"But he was shot twice!" Harm exclaimed.

"The shock of seeing someone shot made me drop my tea…I bent down to pick up the broken pieces of my tea mug…I didn't want them to look up and see me…so I stayed hidden…I wouldn't have wanted to be on the run all my life like that good looking David Jansen in that TV show The Fugitive…being chased by that one armed man must have been really scary…now I really liked that movie remake they did a few years ago with that handsome Harrison Ford…and Tommy Lee Jones isn't bad looking either!"

"Madam! Could you…"

"Now I thought I told you I not to call me Madam…I mean it makes me sound like I have girls working for me…I would never do…"

"Ma'am, could you PLEASE stick to the relevant information! Do you have any pertinent details to add to your statement?"

"No, I don't," Clara stated firmly having decided that she didn't like this man's attitude. She was sure that this was the blue-eyed man she'd seen in her reading that was going to be trouble for that nice Detective Hoyt.

"Thank you, Ms. Rose," Harm said through gritted teeth, "I'll be going now."

Now, Clara might not like his attitude, but he was still a handsome man, and by his own admission, neither married or involved, so…"Oh Mr. Rabb!"

"Yes?" he reluctantly turned back, surprised to find Clara so close to him. She sure could move quickly for such a large woman.

Grabbing him by the lapels, Clara pulled him forward and kissed him soundly.

"What was that for?" he shouted when she let him up for air.

"Well…you stopped right under the mistletoe…"

Looking up in disbelief Harm saw that there was indeed mistletoe hanging over his head. Quickly stepping back so she wouldn't have a reason to grab him again, he protested, "But it's August!"

"Oh…I keep it up all year round…I feel it promotes the spirit of the season…and you should know that physics are all about Spirits!" she giggled and watched as he backed out of the door of her shop.

Tuesday, 12 August 2003

1730 EST

Bay Street Physic Shop

Boston, Massachusetts

"Hellooo Dearie!" Clara greeted her when she entered. "How did your lunch date go today?"

"It was fine, Ms. Rose," said Jordan cautiously, knowing Clara thought she'd had lunch with Woody.

"Oh call me Clara, Dearie…I feel we are going to be such good friends…almost like Lavern and Shirley…although I could never abide that Lenny and Squiggy…but Carmine…Shirley's boyfriend you know…was certainly very cute…even if he was short…speaking of short…I had a very tall visitor this afternoon…he had blue eyes…and even if he was handsome he really wasn't much of a kisser…I'm sure that he's the one that's going to be trouble for your nice detective…he's from the CIA…you know those spooks are always trouble…Although Maxwell Smart wasn't…but that was because he had that lovely wife to watch over him…well…she wasn't his wife at first…but he got smart and married her…or should I say Get Smart…you know that was the title of the show…but what kind of name is 99 for a girl…now he did have that very handsome boss…they both called him Chief…even though he didn't like it…there's just something about a bald man that is so sexy…like that Captain Picard from the new Star Trek…or Yul Brynner…your father doesn't happen to be bald does he…I haven't had time to see him yet…"

As Clara babbled on, Jordan thought that if she didn't like Aunt Merry's fiancé so much she could have introduced him to Clara. On the other hand, Garret was losing his hair too, but she wouldn't do that to Lily. The thoughts of Merry reminded her that she needed to get to her father's place for dinner. "Ms…Clara, I did stop by for a reason," Jordan rushed in during one of Clara's rare breaths.

"Oh…I'm so sorry Dearie…and here I was going on and on…you were going to tell me about your date…"

To be continued….


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Quickly changing the subject, again, Jordan responded, "Actually, I came in to ask you about something you'd said earlier that struck me as important. But first, did your blue-eyed man happen to be Harmon Rabb?" Jordan asked.

"Yes he was Dearie…do you know him?" Clara asked her.

"I sure do," she admitted, chuckling to herself at how Harm must have reacted to being kissed by Clara. She doubted the man she'd had lunch with had willingly kissed this woman. 'Guess I'll have to find out for myself if he's any good.'

Jordan continued, "Agent Rabb is trying to take jurisdiction of the case away from Detective Hoyt and I. Would you mind telling me what the two of you talked about?"

"He tried to ask me questions about that night…but he wasn't very good at it…not like that Napoleon Solo from The Man From Uncle…he had a foreign partner too…but I don't think he understood me… he kept repeating himself…and then went away assuming he knew everything I did…and you know what they say about people that assume…"

Jumping in before Clara could go on with that explanation, she said, "Thank you Clara, we'd really like to be the ones to solve this case, my father was one of the first ones to be involved, and Detective Hoyt and I found the body."

"Well I will be happy to help you in anyway that I can Dearie!"

"Wonderful," Jordan declared. "I wanted to ask you about the name your Ouija board spelled out that night. I found out that Carl Travis was Vietnamese. You said two of the men were speaking a language you didn't recognize, I wondered if he might have been born with a different name and changed it to sound more American." Jordan didn't want to reveal to Clara that Travis had been in the witness protection program.

"Oh Dearie…I'm sure that's what happened…in Detective Hoyt's reading it talked about someone with a change of identity…oh how exciting…maybe he was really a spy…or hiding from spies…that could be why that CIA agent is here…oh how intriguing!"

"Do you happen to remember the name the board spelled out that night?" Jordan asked, keeping her fingers crossed.

"As a matter of fact I do…well I don't really remember it…it was a lot of years ago…but I wrote it down so I could look it up in the phone book…like I told you…now I'm just sure that I kept it…the question is where could I have put it…" Clara closed her eyes, and anyone who hadn't been told that she heard voices might have believed that she was just trying to think, however Jordan was close enough that she could see Clara's lips moving.

Wondering just what she was getting herself into, Jordan debated whether to just leave or not, but knew she'd never be able to escape unnoticed because of the bell hanging on the door.

"I have it!" Clara proclaimed and hurried towards the stairs that led to her apartment upstairs. "Are you coming, Dearie?" she asked over her shoulder.

With a sigh, Jordan followed her new 'best friend'. "Let's see now…the murder took place on…" Clara trailed off as if searching her mind for the date.

Jordan filled in, "May 4th, 1979," since it was still fresh in her mind from the unsolved mystery night.

"Thank you, Dearie…are you sure you aren't just a bit physic yourself…" Clara inquired as she led Jordan into the apartment and to a closed door.

"No, I just have a good mind for details," she answered.

"Well that is probably a good thing in the job that you have…I bet you have to remember so many things like where are all the bones are and the internal organs too…so you would know if they are in the wrong place when you cut someone open…and I bet you have to know the names of all kinds of diseases too…so you know if that is what killed them…Quincy was always coming up with things like that…I really am so sorry that they took him off the air…" Clara opened the door to what Jordan thought might be a bedroom, but instead found a room lined with shelves.

Shelves that were crammed very full, but not of books, it looked like magazines, small ones at that. "What in the world?"

To be continued….


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

"Why it's my collection, Dearie…I have every TV Guide published since I started living on my own…"

Jordan's jaw dropped as her eyes ran over what had to be at least thirty years worth of TV Guides.

"I hate when they keep changing the size though…because then I have to change the height of the shelves so they will fit…I love to take them out and read them over and over again…that is how I remember all my favorite shows…even the ones that are gone now and live only in the memories of the fans that watched them…some shows will never be forgotten…why I have even heard that there are people out there that go to conventions that are all about the shows that they love…how I wish I could go to something like that…but who could I get to watch my shop while I was gone…I mean you just can't hire any physic off the street…I have my customers to think of…when they come into the shop they expect a certain level of professionalism…you just can't have anyone doing that kind of thing…"

"Ms. R…Clara, I need to get the name and get home to dinner. My father is expecting me," Jordan interjected, when it seemed that Clara was once again going off into a world of her own.

"Oh, of course, Dearie," Clara said, entering the room.

Jordan stood there in the doorway, contemplating the loneliness of a woman who would turn a guest room into an archive dedicated to television and movies.

Repeating the date over and over again, Clara walked around the room looking at the neatly marked shelves for the date on the spine of the TV Guides. With a crow of delight, she pulled one off a shelf, "Oh I should have remembered this without my voices…it has that rugged Judd Hirsch on the cover…he was in Taxi then and now he is on that show 'Regular Joe' where he plays the father…Baxter Binder…it's not the best of shows…but he will be in a new show soon where he will also be the father…of two brothers…it will be a hit I'm just sure of that…but the reason I should have remembered it is that Danny DeVito was also on the cover…he was short just like the two men I saw…the other one was tall like Judd…he also had dark hair like him…but I know that I wrote the name in here…because the TV Guide is always by my favorite chair and so it was close at hand when I consulted the board to talk to that poor dead man…"

She opened the Guide to the date of the shooting and there in the margin was written Chinh Trang. "Clara, can I have this please so I can show Detective Hoyt?" Jordan asked, reaching out for the magazine.

"Oh Dearie I couldn't…it would be like parting with an old friend…but I can write it on a piece of paper for you…would that be okay…" she asked, clutching the TV Guide to her heart as if Jordan was trying to steal her favorite cat.

Giving the older lady and indulgent smile, Jordan said, "Yes, that would be fine. I wouldn't want to be the cause of a hole in your collection."

"Thank you Dearie…you are so understanding…just like Joan from that Joan of Arcadia show…she hears voices too you know…but on the show it's God's way of talking to her…now I don't think my voices are God…some of them are female…but come to think of it…on that show sometimes God appears to Joan as a female too…"

"Clara! I'm sorry to interrupt, but I really do have to be going. My father and Aunt are expecting me for dinner, he was a cop and he is very strict about things, like being on time."

To be continued….


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

"Oh I understand Dearie…you should always honor your father…the good book says that…it also says mother, but I didn't add that part because you had lost yours so young…but maybe your father will remarry again one day and then you will have a mother again…and wouldn't it just be wonderful if it were me…and then when you and that sweet Detective Hoyt get married and have children I'll have been there to see it all happen and…"

Completely frustrated now, Jordan began fishing around in her purse for something to copy the name down on. 'Does this woman ever stop talking? Now she has a whole new family planned out for me!' She finally found an old receipt and a pen. Scribbling down the name, her tone was far from polite when she announced, "I'm leaving now!" and turned to walk away from Clara.

"Alright then Dearie…" Clara said as she trailed after Jordan on her escape through the apartment and then the shop below. "Be sure to remember me to your father…and as soon as I have time to change my hair color I'll be sure to drop in and see him…although I'm not sure it's proper for a lady to go into a bar alone…at least it wasn't in my day…but I guess times have changed…and if I go into the bar on the arm of another man…that might send the wrong signal to your father…although it might also make him just a teensy weensy bit jealous…"

That was all Jordan heard as she finally made it out of the shop. She spared a thought as to how long Clara had kept talking as she drove over to the bar. Smirking to herself, she pictured the woman still talking as she parked her car and went in. All she had to do now was find a way to show the name to AJ. Jordan was sure that he knew more about Carl Travis and Chinh Trang than he had let on. Odd that when giving the man a new name they had let him keep his original initials.

Because Max had no employees other than a cook, he had to watch the bar whenever it was open. So that night, the four of them had dinner at one of the tables near the bar, so that Max could get up and wait on any customer that came in.

About halfway through dinner Jordan began fishing around in her purse. She pulled out a pen and wrote something down on her napkin. Only her father knew this wasn't her normal behavior. He figured she must have a reason, so ever the cop, he asked, "Jordan, what are you doing?"

"Oh, sorry dad. It was nothing," she replied as she pushed the napkin away from her and not by accident, closer to AJ, who was sitting on her right. "I was just trying to make sense of something Clara Rose had told me today."

As she had hoped, AJ looked at the napkin. She had deliberately misspelled the name Clara had given her a couple of times before writing it out correctly. Even in the darkened bar Jordan saw him go pale as he read the last set of words. Now, she was sure she was going to have to get her Aunt's fiancé alone and have a talk with him.

"And did you?" her father asked, breaking into her thoughts.

"What? Oh, no, its just a bunch of gibberish," she told him and reached out to crumple up the napkin and put it in her pocket.

After that, talk turned to plans for the wedding and Meredith held center stage until they were done eating.

Jordan never did get a chance to talk to AJ that night however. Meredith, giddy with all the talk about the wedding, stuck to him like a barnacle to the hull of a ship. She would just have to find another time to talk to him about Chinh Trang.

To be continued….


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Bud Roberts was just about to sit down to dinner when the phone rang. The boys had been fed and put to bed early so he and Harriet could have a romantic evening alone. Even though Harriet told him to 'let the machine get it, he'd walked over to see who it was with their caller ID.

Harriett frowned at him when he picked it up, but sighed understandingly when Bud answered, "Hello Admiral."

"Bud, I hate to bother you at home like this…"

"Oh it's no bother Sir!" he quickly said to his CO, as if AJ could somehow know they'd had plans for that night. Harriet rolled her eyes at him and Bud shrugged, looking sheepish.

"I was hoping you might have a few minutes to do me a personal favor?"

"Of course Sir! Anything you need," Bud offered, grabbing the blue crayon, which was the only writing instrument he could see near the phone. At least the kids hadn't run off with the notepad too! He quickly jotted down the information the Admiral wanted him to look up, "I'll get right on it Sir!"

"Oh Buddy!" Harriet moaned when her husband hung up the phone.

"I know sweetie, but it IS for the Admiral and he did call from his vacation, so this must be pretty important."

"I guess," she sighed. "I'll keep dinner warm till you're done."

"Thanks sweetie, you're the best!"

"I know…and don't you forget it!"

"Never!" he swore, kissed her on the cheek and headed for his computer in the den.

True to his word, it didn't take long at all to find out the info the Admiral needed. Bud called him back less than thirty minutes later to report that while there were extensive records of Chuck Trask for the last twenty-five years, before that, he didn't exist.

Since AJ had met Chuck and knew him to be in his mid-sixties, his suspicions were confirmed. Something didn't fit here. However, he needed to learn more before alarming LaVon and Tuyen with his suspicions, or alerting Chuck that he was on to him.

Later that night as AJ laid in bed, his thoughts turned to Carl. He hadn't thought a lot about him over the years since his disappearance. Well, not after first exhausting every resource he'd had at that time to find his friend. He knew that the man he had first known as Chinh Trang would never have willingly left his wife and child. Even though his marriage had been arranged, he loved LaVon and worshiped the ground that his daughter walked on. As he fell asleep, AJ dreamed of those first days of knowing Chinh Trang.

Sunday, 28 June 1970

Colonel Chinh Trang approached the large bamboo cage that held what remained of SEAL team 3. Two men had been tortured to death since the teams capture. The eight men that were left were not in the best of shape either. Trang knew that if he was going to do anything, it would have to be soon. "Lieutenant," Trang whispered at the back of the cage.

The Lieutenant had been waiting for this call; he nudged his best friend awake, "Matt, it's time, wake up!"

Matt muttered and moaned, but did not wake. The fever he had was getting worse every hour. The Lieutenant knew he would have to carry him. SEALs never left a man behind.

"Carson, will you make it?"

"Yes, Sir!" came the reply as the man with the broken leg nodded at the two who were supporting him. The Lieutenant nodded his approval and picked up Matt in a fireman's lift. He had three offers to carry Matt, but the Lieutenant shook his head 'no', he would carry his friend, he knew Matt would have done the same for him.

The men crawled out the back of the cage, gently passing Matt and Carson through to the helping hands on the other side. The guards were sleeping at their posts thanks to the drugged wine Trang had given them. So began their three-day march out of enemy territory. The dangers were great, and they were almost spotted a couple of times. It was hard to hide nine men in that terrain.

Food was almost non-existent on the march, but they ate what they could find, raw because they could not chance a fire. Matt's fever was still raging; but on the second night after their escape, he had a few lucid moments and had a short talk with his closest friend.

"What is it, Matt?" the Lieutenant asked when he heard him.

"Leave me, I'm not going to make it anyway, you've got to get the information back!"

To be continued….


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Lieutenant AJ Chegwidden looked into Matt Kinser's eyes and said, "Not gonna happen buddy, there is no way you're not going to get out of here. Remember, we have plans to be Admirals together someday!"

"Yeah," he tried to grin, "I forgot."

"Well, don't let it happen again," AJ told him.

Matt nodded just before he passed out. AJ knew that he needed to get him to medical help as fast as possible. They once again began to move and AJ would only allow the briefest of rests on that last day. Just after dark, ready to drop from exhaustion and hunger, they came upon a squad of Marines.

AJ reported to the Marine Colonel that Colonel Trang has vital information on the locations of POW camps, had helped them escape, and is seeking asylum in the US.

"That's great. It'll be good to get them home. We will arrange to get you all state side as soon as possible."

A little over a month later, Chinh Trang became Carl Travis and entered the CIA's witness protection program. Trang had provided information that led to the recovery of over two hundred US service men. AJ was reassigned, as was the rest of his team, but he kept in touch with Carl through the years. He knew Carl had married an American and settled in Boston. A short time later, he had become a father. Carl named his daughter Tuyen, which meant Angel.

Wednesday, 13 August 2003

0500 EST

Cavanaugh home

Boston, Massachusetts

AJ was still in the midst of his dream about Tuyen's Christening day when Meredith's loud snore in his ear woke him with a start. Even though it was only 0500, he knew he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, so he quietly slid out of bed and pulled on sweat pants and a T-shirt. Grabbing his running shoes, he figured he would put them on in the kitchen while the coffee was brewing.

He was surprised to find Max sitting at the table reading the early morning paper and a pot of coffee already brewed. Having been a cop for so long Max had become used to drinking strong black coffee, so that was the way he still made it day. AJ smiled as he poured himself a cup, it was almost as strong as he liked it.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" Max asked looking at the way AJ was dressed.

"Just woke up and thought I would go for a run," AJ replied with a grin at Max's skeptical look.

Max didn't know whether he was more curious as to why or how AJ ran at his age. "Just how far do you run?" he finally asked.

AJ took the last swallow of his coffee, before he replied, "I usually manage five miles three times a week and then ten on Saturdays." AJ left the kitchen while Max's mouth was still hanging open.

He was gone before Max muttered, "No wonder you can keep up with that sister of mine!"

Returning from his run, AJ found Meredith making breakfast. She told him that Max had already eaten before she got up and had gone down to the bar to meet with a supplier. Meredith also mentioned that Jordan had stopped by and asked about him. She hadn't been able to stay and eat, even after she had seen her Aunt cooking. She said she had a pile of work she had to catch up on.

AJ reluctantly sat down to eat though he would have preferred to shower after his run. He had eaten enough of his fiancée's cooking to know that it was better eaten at the temperature it was supposed to be, rather than when it had cooled, or even worse, if it was reheated. As she put the plate of what he hoped was scrambled eggs in front of him, he was grateful the drug store at home had been having a two for one sale on their large bottles of antacids, and that he'd had the foresight to pack them both.

To be continued….


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Meredith sat next to AJ to eat, and between bites, questioned him about LaVon and Tuyen. "What can you tell me about them AJ, and what have you told them about me?" she wanted to know.

"Well, LaVon is a stay at home wife and mother. Chuck is a well-to-do businessman, so they have a large home that she oversees. Tuyen is sweet and tiny; she takes after her father, Carl, more so than LaVon. Chuck is very strict and has tried to find a proper husband for her; he also loves her very much and has allowed her to veto any man she wasn't happy with. I think he is getting a bit impatient with her though. Her letter at Christmas said he was very upset at her latest rejection."

When AJ stopped there, Meredith insisted, "You didn't say what you told them about me."

"I only said that I was getting married and that you had family here, so they might be seeing more of me."

"Is that all?" she pouted.

"They asked if you and Francesca had met, and I told them no, but that she was happy I'd met someone to put up with me."

"Oh AJ! You're wonderful and I don't have to put up with you at all!" Meredith gushed and then noticed he hadn't finished his breakfast.

"You gave me quite a lot Meredith, and we are going out to eat for lunch today, so I didn't want to fill up too much," he hedged.

Nodding her understanding, Meredith informed AJ that she was going to email Mac with a picture of the dresses she had chosen for the bridesmaids. She was going to place the order once she had Mac's size. AJ got up from the table and after giving her a brief kiss, told her he was going to take a shower.

After his shower, AJ went to check on his fiancée's progress and found her 'on hold' with the dress manufacturer. She explained that she was having all kinds of trouble getting them to understand what she wanted and then complained, "You have it so easy! No tuxes to pick out or anything. You and your groomsmen just have to show up in your uniforms!"

He offered her a sympathetic smile and replied, "Well, we do have to get out our Mess-Dress uniforms and have them cleaned and pressed and…" he trailed off faking a tired sigh at all the work that would entail.

"Oh you!" she exclaimed and threw the pencil she had been fiddling with at him.

Dodging it easily, AJ laughed and said he was going to go read for a while.

Meredith didn't even notice him leave the room because the person she'd been waiting on had finally come back on the line.

They headed through the bar to pick up the keys to Max's car as they were leaving for lunch. They found her brother stocking bottles of beer behind the counter. "Max, I need the keys to the car," Meredith called as they entered.

He pulled them from his pocket and tossed them directly to AJ. "AJ, you do the driving."

"You don't know if he's a good driver!" she protested.

"Yeah, but I know you're not!"

"It was only a minor fender-bender Max!"

"But it was my fender you bendered, in a parking lot where you were the only car moving. AJ drives or you can call a cab Merry!"

"Fine!" she huffed, as she flounced out the door not even waiting to see if AJ was following her.

Giving AJ a sympathetic glance as his future brother-in-law left the bar, Max wondered how the two of them ever hooked up.

To be continued….


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Arriving at LaVon's, AJ was a bit surprised that Tuyen didn't run out to greet him, but as they approached the house he noticed the curtain on the front door twitch and then the door opened before he could knock. "Hello Tuyen," he said with a smile, as she stood there torn between her desire to hug him fiercely and the proper behavior she knew she should display. Taking pity on her, he opened his arms and she practically launched herself into them.

"Danh tu, AJ! It's so good to see you!"

"Tuyen, it's only been two days," he chuckled.

"I know, but I miss you so when we are apart."

"Well, as I told you, that might be changing since Meredith has family here," he said, putting the tiny girl back on her feet and placing an arm around Meredith's waist to introduce them.

Before he could speak, LaVon's voice could be heard through the open door, "Tuyen, I didn't hear the bell, what are you doing out there…Oh AJ! You're here!" she finished as she stepped into the doorway and saw their guests.

"Yes, and I'd like you and Tuyen to meet my fiancée, Meredith Cavanaugh. Darling, this is LaVon Trask and her daughter Tuyen."

After the greetings had taken place, AJ asked, "Where shall we go to lunch?"

Tuyen piped up, "I know Danh tu AJ's favorite food is Italian and it's my favorite too, and we never get it because Ba' {papa} doesn't like it. I thought we could go to Restrelli's, it's a wonderful new place downtown."

"Oh," Meredith sighed, "I had been hoping to look up an old favorite place of mine. It was this exciting Greek place where you would sit on the floor and eat with your hands."

Tuyen looked disappointed, but before she could even have a chance of protesting, her mother gently chided, "Tuyen…"

"We should of course go where Miss Cavanaugh would like to go," she said submissively, bowing her head.

AJ would have much preferred Italian food to sitting on the floor and eating with his hands and he knew that to LaVon, Tuyen's respect of elders was more important than where they ate, so he asked, "Meredith, do you remember where this Greek restaurant is?"

"Oh I'm sure I can find it, if everyone's sure that's okay?" she said eagerly.

LaVon nodded and said, "Of course, Miss Cavanaugh."

"Oh please, call me Meredith, after all we'll be like family when AJ and I are married."

"Thank you, Meredith."

AJ held the doors open while the three ladies got into the Max's car, and with Meredith in the front seat next to him, they began the search for the Greek restaurant. After twenty minutes of driving around with Meredith insisting that 'they had to be close' and 'I'm pretty sure it's in the next block!' she finally exclaimed, "This is it! I remember that little bookstore. The restaurant is under it, just below street level."

He pulled the car into a parking space right in front of a sign that read: Restrelli's, and pointed to a staircase leading down. "I don't understand!" Meredith protested. "This used to be Papa Dapoulos'!"

"Meredith, how long ago are you talking about?" AJ asked her gently.

"I was here the last time I visited Max and Jordan. It would only have been nine or ten years ago."

"Tuyen, didn't you say this place was new?" he questioned.

"Yes, it has only been Restrelli's for a month or so," Tuyen offered softly from the back seat.

"But before that it was one of those open-mike-night-coffee-shop type places," LaVon added.

"Oh," came a sad sigh from Meredith.

"Since this was Tuyen's suggestion, would you be willing to give it a try darling?" AJ asked.

"Yes, I guess so, I just so wanted to share someplace fun with everyone," she said, still clearly disappointed.

"It will be fun as long as we are all together, Aunt Meredith," Tuyen tried to comfort the older woman.

"Tuyen! Miss Cava…Meredith didn't give you permission to call her 'aunt'!" her mother scolded.

"Oh it's alright," Meredith declared turning in her seat to look at the two in the back. "Lets all go in and have a wonderful time."

Meredith took hold of AJ's arm as she got out of the car. Tuyen was about to lay claim to the other, when she realized that would leave her mother to walk in alone. AJ, seeing what was going on, gallantly offered his free arm to LaVon and Tuyen quietly stepped behind the trio with her head bowed.

He looked like a man entering with his harem, or at least that was how it appeared to the hostess when she led the four of them to a table. After their orders were taken Meredith turned to Tuyen and said, "AJ tells me you are in college. We have something in common. I'm a professor of literature."

With a rueful smile at her godfather, Tuyen replied, "We have more in common than you know. Danh tu AJ seems to forget the passing of time. I'm no longer _in_ college, I teach college. Classes in Religious Studies/Women's History."

To be continued….


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Giving her an embarrassed grin, AJ told her, "You will always be a little girl to me."

"It's my small size," Tuyen sighed, "I'm often mistaken for a student, but I'm thirty-one now Danh tu."

"I suppose you'll tell Meredith about your most disappointing birthday now as well," he gave a fake beleaguered sigh.

"Oh you mean my sixteenth! He sent me a beautiful baby doll with a full wardrobe, when I had been dreaming of a car!" Tuyen moaned and everyone laughed.

"He should be able to keep better track than that, Tuyen," Meredith stated. "AJ, isn't Francesca about the same age?"

"She's actually six years older. Francesca is thirty-seven."

"AJ told us that you hadn't had a chance to meet his daughter yet Meredith," LaVon joined the conversation.

"That's true, with three busy schedules to work around, it just hasn't happened yet. But we will make a point of it over the holidays. Our plans are for Francesca to come here for Thanksgiving and we are going to Italy for Christmas."

"Oh I do so hope that you might have time to bring her here to Boston during her visit. I so want to meet her too!" Tuyen pleaded.

"Don't all colleges have a long break at Christmas time, Tuyen?" AJ asked.

"Yes, Danh tu, why?"

"Well, if we don't have time to come to Boston during her visit, maybe you would like to travel with us to Italy during your break."

Even as her daughter's eyes lit with excitement at the idea, LaVon spoke, "I'm afraid my husband wouldn't approve. Even though I trust AJ with our lives, Chuck would never allow her to travel with an unmarried couple. He would not consider you proper chaperones for her."

"But she's thirty-one years old! She's more than legal age to decide those things for herself," Meredith protested.

"Although my first husband tried to embrace American ways, Chuck does not. He is very traditional and strict. He is the head of the household, and until Tuyen is married with the proper husband to guide her, he makes all the decisions."

"And Chuck is also the one who decides whom the 'proper' husband should be?" Meredith asked.

"Yes, he is," LaVon admitted.

"I suppose this 'proper' husband must be Vietnamese as well?"

This time it was Tuyen who answered, "Yes, the only non-Vietnamese man he seems to approve of is Ralph Franks, his foreman, but I think that is only because Mr. Franks has something over Ba'."

"Tuyen…" her mother chided.

"Although mother doesn't agree with me."

"What do you mean 'has something over' your stepfather?" questioned AJ.

Even though LaVon was frowning at her, Tuyen answered, "Whenever they are together Ba' seems edgy and Mr. Franks is the only man Ba' ever allows to contradict him. He often does what he says too, and that is unusual for Ba'."

AJ felt that it was time to get the conversation back on happier topics, but made a mental note to check into that information later. "Well, if you won't be able to go with us at Christmas, then we will just have to make a special effort to get everyone together at Thanksgiving."

"That would be wonderful, AJ. Maybe we could have you, Meredith, and Francesca, as well as Meredith's brother and niece all over to the house for Thanksgiving dinner," LaVon suggested.

"Would Chuck allow that?" he inquired gently.

"Ba' always goes back to Viet Nam during that week. He goes to celebrate his grandmother's birthday with her," Tuyen replied, "Tuyen Trang will be ninety-eight this year."

"Tuyen Trang?" AJ questioned a bit more sharply than he'd intended.

"Yes, I thought it was an odd coincidence too, until Chuck explained that Tuyen was a popular name there, It means Angel," LaVon explained.

AJ just nodded understandingly as his mind buzzed. LaVon would find it much more than an odd coincidence if she knew that both her husband's last names had been Trang! "I think Thanksgiving dinner at your home sounds wonderful. We'll talk with Max and Jordan and let you know for sure as soon as we do," he changed the subject.

"This is amazing!" Tuyen enthused. "I'll get to see you twice in one year!"

Meredith, seeing how excited she was over something so simple, and knowing what Tuyen meant to AJ, smiled at her fiancé and asked, "Darling, do you think you could find another groomsman to add to the attendants?"

"I don't think that would be a problem," AJ replied after Meredith's pointed look at his unsuspecting goddaughter.

"Marvelous! Tuyen, I was wondering if you would consider being a bridesmaid in our wedding?"

Tuyen's excited answer of, "I would love to!" was nearly in unison to LaVon's protest of, "Meredith, you don't have to do that!"

"Oh, I know I don't have to, but I would like to. So as long as Tuyen is willing, I will simply call the dressmaker and order one more gown."

"Oh yes please! Mother, I do so want to!"

"Alright then," her mother conceded after getting a nod of approval from AJ.

Pulling out pen and paper, Meredith said, "I'll need your dress and shoe size, Tuyen."

The rest of the meal, talk centered around the plans for the wedding.

To be continued….


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Wednesday, 13 August 2003

1700 EST

Cavanaugh home

Boston, Massachusetts

Wednesday evenings Max had his old friends from the precinct over to the bar for poker night, so Meredith suggested that she and AJ pick up some take out food and drop by Jordan's apartment. "I've been wanting to see her place," she explained to him.

"But should we just drop by unannounced?"

"From what Max says, she works late almost every night and never dates, even though Detective Hoyt has been trying to get her to go out with him. But if she isn't home, we could just bring the food back here and have a quite night alone."

"That'll work," he said with a smile.

Before going over, Harm called Jordan's home number to find out what she was planning to serve for dinner so he would know what kind of wine to bring. He was surprised not to get an answer, so he called the receptionist desk at work. He figured that if she was still there, she'd gotten delayed and would be busy; he didn't want to slow her down any more. With a resigned sigh, he asked the receptionist to give him a call when Jordan left.

The receptionist called him thirty minutes later saying that Jordan had just left. Harm figured he would give her just enough time to get home and then show up to help her. They could bond over making the meal together.

Jordan had worked frantically all day to get everything caught up so she could leave at a reasonable time for her dinner with Harm, she'd even remembered to call Rick. Patrick (Rick) Ryan was the cook at her father's bar.

Because her mother had died so young, Jordan had never really learned to cook. So whenever she would invite a guy over for a 'home cooked meal' she'd call Rick, tell him what she wanted and then pick it up on the way home.

Leaving work on the dot of 5:30, Jordan hurried over to the bar to pick up her meal. "Usual deal, Rick?" she asked him.

"Yeah, reheating instructions are in there as well as a comment you can make about the sauce. I've never known you to ask for the meat separate before though…."

"My guest is a vegetarian, so the meat is just for me," she answered as she grabbed the bags and headed for the door.

Rick was still muttering about vegetarians long after she was gone.

Jordan had been home just long enough to turn the oven on and strip out of her work clothes. She was standing at the door of her closet reaching for her sexy red dress, when the doorbell rang. Looking at her watch, which was the only thing she still had on, she muttered, "Damn! He's early!" Throwing the dress on, she hopped on one foot, then the other, to get her shoes on as she headed for the door.

"Harm, you're early," she declared as she opened the door without any other kind of greeting.

"I thought you might need help with dinner since you left work so late."

"Huh? How do you know when I left work?" she questioned, too startled to even invite him in.

"I called to find out what wine to bring and found that you were still at work, so thought I'd come by early and help you cook. I'm pretty handy in the kitchen…if you'll invite me in…"

"Oh, sorry…yeah come in, but I don't need any help, I'm just making spaghetti."

"Are you sure I can't help, I make a pretty good sauce?" he inquired.

"Ummm…no I had some frozen and was just heating it up. Why don't you sit down and I'll get some glasses for the wine," she told him starting for the kitchen.

Jordan put the garlic bread into the oven and placed the sauce in the microwave. Having him arrive early would save her from getting a pan dirty. She could just reheat it in the container Rick had sent. She took two glasses out and she sat on the couch beside him.

"Shall we start with the red? I brought both as I didn't know what we were having."

"Sounds good."

Clinking his glass to hers, Harm took a drink and set his glass down, "I love that dress."

"Why thank you…I was hoping you would," she flirted lightly.

Taking advantage of her good mood, Harm asked, "Oh, when do you think you might have the Travis file for me?"

Setting her glass next to his, she answered with a smile, "When it's done of course." Even though she was smiling, there was a hint of steel in her tone.

"What more could there possibly be to do? I talked with the only witness and she couldn't add anything to what was already in the police report?"

"Really? When I talked to her, she had a lot to say…" Jordan grinned at him.

To be continued….


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

"I thought I told you to leave contacting people to me," Harm said with a frown.

"You told me not to contact Travis' family. I didn't, I talked to Ms. Rose. But if I'd thought that it would help my investigation, I'd go and talk to his family too!" Jordan assured him.

"Jordan, I have jurisdiction in this case and you will leave the investigation to me! I want that report first thing in the morning!"

"And if I don't do as you say?"

'Wow she's hot when she's angry,' Harm thought before he replied, "You really don't want to fight the CIA, do you?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"And if I am?" he said, all the while planning to kiss her and shut her up.

"Oh…ARG!" she snarled, grabbed his shirtfront, pulled him forward, and kissed him roughly.

Startled, and not liking this one bit, he was still a man. Harm yanked her into his arms and angrily returned the kiss all the while thinking, 'God she's really hot when she's angry!'

Not happy that he'd become the aggressor, she rose up and pushed him onto his back on the couch. Moving on top of him she thrust her tongue into his mouth.

Harm, not to be outdone, thrust his tongue back into hers, pushing her out of his mouth, to top it off he ran his hand up her thigh moving her sexy red dress out of the way as he did so.

Pulling out of the kiss, she stared at him for a moment and then yanked at his belt buckle and undid it.

Flashing her a predatory grin, he moved his hand up under her dress to cup her ass, discovering that she had no panties on. "You were planning this?" he questioned.

"No," she growled, "You arrived early and I didn't have time to dress." Pulling down his pants she asked, "Are you prepared for this?"

He yanked her dress off over her head and snapped, "I was a boy scout…we're always prepared!"

"Good!" she said, pulling his wallet out and removing the condom. She threw his pants onto the floor and climbed back on top of him. Harm tried to roll on top, but she wouldn't allow it.

On his way home from work that night, Nigel decided to pay a visit to this woman he'd heard so much about. He just had to see for himself if she was really all everyone said that she was. Parking his scooter in front of the shop he paused for just a moment to take in the atmosphere. It was a small place that other businesses had grown up around, almost as if they were trying to crowd this tiny little shop out. But the Bay Street Psychic Shoppe had withstood the test of time.

Pushing open the door, he listened to the musical little bell that greeted customers. The shop was redolent with intoxicating aromas. Nigel could immediately recognize sandalwood, vanilla, and cinnamon, as well as a few others that were familiar, but he couldn't put a name to. He looked around and saw shelves filled with bottles of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some had liquids, some powders, and others looked like they were filled with dried leaves.

He didn't see the shop owner at all until a curtain was swept aside and a woman that could only be Clara Rose came in muttering, "Oh sure a tall dark handsome foreigner is going to come into my life! Like I believe that after all these years!" She seemed so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Nigel, even though the bell had announced his arrival.

Clara actually appeared startled to see someone standing in her shop. "Oh my dearie me…I didn't hear the bell…are you a ghost come to ask me to help you cross over…but I guess you call yourselves spirits these days…we must always be politically correct…even if it is so hard to keep up with all the current names and all…but now that you've entered the spirit realm I guess that doesn't much matter to you anymore…so would you like to sit down…well I guess I should ask if you can sit down…some spirits can't…they just fall through the chair when they try…but it's so much nicer to talk when sitting down to a nice cup of tea…but then I don't know if you can drink tea…or if you even like tea…"

Nigel knew that if he didn't jump in there, he might never get a chance to, so he interrupted her to say, "I love tea, and would love to sit down and have a wee cuppa with you."

"Oh wonderful!" Clara exclaimed, but her facial expression was more perturbed than glad. Nigel understood when she went on to complain, "You send me a tall dark handsome foreigner…you just don't happen to mention that he will be a tall dark handsome DEAD foreigner!"

To be continued….


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

"Miss Rose I can assure you that I am very much alive," and just to prove it, Nigel leaned over to give Clara a brief kiss on the cheek.

"Oh my…dearie me!" she gasped and blushed, pressing her hand to her cheek.

"My friends have told me so much about you that I just had to come and see for myself, my name is Nigel Townsend."

"Townsend? Like Charlie Townsend of the Townsend Detective Agency in that show Charlie's Angels…you know you would be just about the right age to be his son…I always did have a feeling that he was real and not just a character on a show…I mean why would he have kept himself hidden like that from all those lovely girls when they wanted to meet him so badly…I always thought there was something fishy about that…so is that who your father is…Charlie?"

"No ,Ma'am, not that I know of."

"What friends was it that told you about me…I just knew that it was too good to be true that the cards really didn't send a tall dark handsome foreigner to me…"

"Well, I work with Jordan Cavanaugh at the ME's office," he told her.

"Oh, so she does have a foreign partner…just like Quincy did!"

"Quincy? He's the reason I chose the field I did!"

"So where are you from, Dearie?"

"I was born in Liverpool, England."

"Oh…just like that singing group…the Cockroaches!"

"I think you mean the Beatles."

"Yes, yes…it was Buddy Holly and the Cockroaches…"

"Ummm, no, they were called the Crickets," he interrupted cautiously.

"Oh…" she seemed a bit disappointed that she'd gotten it wrong twice. "Be that as it may…you work with my future step-daughter…that almost makes us family!"

"I didn't know you and Max were engaged."

"Oh…we're not…"

"Or dating?"

"Oh, not that either…"

"But you have at least met him?"

"Yes…twenty-four years ago and such a dear sweet man…Jordan tells me that he's been thinking of me all this time…he talks to her about me and everything…I just know that as soon as we see each other again across his crowded bar…you know they did a movie with a song just like that…although it was a crowded room…not a bar…it was in the movie South Pacific…and it had a very handsome Frenchman in it…although I'm sure Jordan's father will be much better looking…I'm planning on dying my hair green tonight so I can go and see him…"

"Ummm, green?"

"Because he's Irish of course, silly boy!"

"Oh, well that makes perfect sense, I wish you luck with that. Max is a fine man, and Jordan certainly could use a motherly influence in her life," Nigel told her trying to keep his glee at the thought of Jordan having Clara for a step-mother from showing on his face.

"That is just what I thought when I met her…and of course that will allow me to be there when she and that dear sweet Detective Hoyt get married and start having children…I will be such a good granny to them…maybe I should learn to knit…they will make such wonderful babies together…but they need to be wary of the blue eyed man I told them both about…he will bring trouble to their lives…the reading I did for that sweet Detective Hoyt told me that so very clearly…"

"My granny used to have the 'second sight' as well," Nigel interrupted. "But she read tea leaves. Do you think you might have time to do a reading for me Ms. Rose?"

"I would just love to do that…you know that the cards know all…not to say that your granny didn't get answers from tea leaves…but all I can say is that I tried to talk to them, but they just didn't speak to me the way the cards and my Ouija board do…my favorite tea is chamomile…it's so calming and peaceful…maybe that's why I didn't hear anything…it's so quiet…but I would be glad to do a reading for you…do you have a special question you want answered or is it just a general reading you want…now I don't need or really want to know your question ahead of time…but would just like to get a feel for what it is you're seeking young man."

To be continued….


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

"Well, it's been a really long time since I've had a reading. I don't have anything specific in mind, so for this first time, why don't we go for a general reading? I can foresee this becoming a regular thing if all goes well," Nigel answered gleefully.

Clara led him to the private alcove that she had created for readings as she said, "You know even what some people consider 'bad' readings…ones that tell of sadness or misfortune…have their 'good' about them…they give you a chance to be ready for it…sometimes to prevent it…but in all cases to be as prepared as possible…that is…if one is open to what the cards are trying to say."

As they sat down, Nigel assured her, "Now I didn't mean that unless I get a 'happy-happy joy-joy' reading I wouldn't be back. What I meant was that sometimes two people just don't click and then the readings, well, just don't click," he said with a grin. "I knew my granny had that happen a few times."

"I can't say I ever have…somehow the cards always allow me to see past even the most strongly erected walls…shall we begin?" Clara asked as she handed him the cards and instructed, "Shuffle them and as you do, since you just want a general reading, allow your mind to be open to anything the cards will share with you…then I need you to choose ten cards and hand them to me one at a time."

Nigel did as he was told and she placed them down in a circular pattern that he had never seen before. When he asked her about it, she explained, "Well…I feel that life is a circle…and because of that I created this pattern myself."

"That's fascinating! Would you be so kind as to explain your pattern as we go through this?" he asked eagerly.

"Most certainly dear boy, I always want the subject to be completely aware of what is going on in their reading…now are ready for us to begin?" she asked and waited for his nod before continuing, "The first card is you in the situation…" she flipped the card over to reveal the Empress, "Now don't you worry…to see a female card show up as you dear boy doesn't mean that you are really a girl… instead it means that you have some feminine qualities that are very important…all good men really do…the ones that are sensitive and caring…well this card says that you have an open and sympathetic heart and because of this your wishes will be provided for…but you must always exert your power with a loving hand…see…that didn't say 'you are a girl'!" Clara giggled before going on to the next card.

"Well, of course not!" he protested defensively.

"This is the past of the situation…it can be as recent as a week ago or as much as a year…but recent is the key…the Nine of Wands indicates that you have had to defend your positions in life even if they were unpopular with those you respect…you have to bide your time and stay faithful to your purpose. If you remember to temper your strength with knowledge you will meet the challenge. It sounds like you had a difficult time Dearie…I do so hope that things will be better for you in the future."

"So do I, Ms. Rose," Nigel sighed.

"Oh call me Clara Dearie…all my best clients do…now this next card is the present of the situation,

The Sun tells us everything is sunny and bright; love, friendship, and relationships of all kinds are highlighted right now. You are a dynamic, inspiring and influential leader whose light shines for all to see, you should show the world who you are, and what you have done! Well my yes, that is much better, it seems that you are finally coming into your own, Dearie!"

With a cheerful smile now that things were looking brighter for Nigel, Clara turned over the next card, "This card is the immediate future of the situation…the Two of Pentacles… it tells us that you have endured changes in the past and are now being called upon to do so again. You must remain flexible and see change as opportunity as you ride upon the flowing waves of life…oh well if I didn't know better it would almost sound like you were going to take up surfing…but not really...I was just kidding you know."

Nigel nodded again to show Clara that he understood her teasing him and she continued, "This card represents the inner workings of the problem…the Two of Swords says that it is time to consider the viewpoints held by others and even though you may not possess all the pieces of the puzzle things will all come together if you are willing to wait for them…oooh it almost sounds like a warning there…"

To be continued….


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

"Dearie…I get a feeling that this reading is turning out to be a bit of both your work life and your personal one," Clara said.

"I was getting that same feeling," Nigel told her.

"The next card is the outer workings of the situation. The Prince of Swords tells us that words will be exchanged forcefully. Sarcastic or cutting words will provoke a conflict. You will not be involved in this argument…but you may witness it…and its outcome will effect you…so you need to be aware of what is happening."

"Maybe I can prevent it if I see it happening?" Nigel asked hopefully.

"I doubt that Dearie…usually when something falls in the outer workings of the reading it means that it is something that you will have no control over. Now this next card is things that may help you, it is the Magician, and is telling you that if your willpower is consciously and aggressively directed…you can accomplish all that you visualize. You are challenged to go forward into the world and use your skill and intelligence to produce change for the better! Now that is some challenge Dearie…but I have a feeling that you are up to it!"

"Thank you Clara, that is high praise!" he smiled at her.

She smiled back and patted his hand, then she went on, "The next card is something that can hinder you. The Seven of Pentacles says fear of failing…or worry about the future…it will not bring you a favorable outcome. You must remain strong even in the face of defeat. Remember it is neither profitable nor necessary to continually measure the growth of your project. Oh that is a warning if ever I heard one. You need to pay heed to that and watch so you don't fall into that trap, Dearie."

"I'll try not to," he said now completely wrapped up in the reading.

"The next card is your hopes and fears in the situation, it's the Seven of Wands and it says you will be challenged to stand by your beliefs and values. You must trust your judgment and intuition and believe that even if the situation looks difficult…trust that you will know how to handle it. You must remember that the difference between heroic and cowardly behavior is that the hero goes on in spite of fear. Oh that is so true!" she offered earnestly.

"I agree," was all he said eager for the last card to be turned over.

"This last card is the final outcome," she said as she flipped over the King of Hearts. "As you might expect, this ummm usually means a man coming into your life when it appears here…but then again since you are a man…maybe it means you…but the king of hearts says that he….umm you...will be a good husband and father…he…umm…you will be considerate and affectionate…non-judgmental and kind…people will seek his…your council…he…you are a true gentleman. He…you have dealings with the arts and humanities and appreciates beauty…he…you are a great collector and have excellent taste."

Looking up into Nigel's face Clara gently asked, "Dearie, could this be what you have been struggling with? Could it actually be a man coming into your life? I don't mean to pry into your personal affairs…or to imply that you have affairs…or that you don't have affairs…but the cards don't lie and they seem to say a man is coming in to your life…"

"It probably does mean me, I can promise that I will be back and that we will have more readings together."

"That sounds just find, Dearie…you come back just as soon as you can!" she said as they both got up and re-entered the shop.

Nigel leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek and said, "Thank you again for the wonderful reading Clara, it was most enlightening, and I will be back, soon!"

"I'll look forward to that, Dearie!"

"AJ, I'm telling you, this IS the right place. I wrote down the instructions just like Max gave them to me…go up the freight elevator to the second floor and hers is the big red door that will be right in front of you," Meredith read from the paper in her hand.

AJ just shook his head, thinking that Jordan was as eccentric as her aunt. Even though his arms were full of bags of take out food, he managed to knock on the door. He had asked Max to help him locate a nearby Greek restaurant. Since Meredith had been such a good sport at lunch, he wanted to offer her a special surprise for dinner.

The door was opened by a shirtless, barefoot man buttoning his pants. Because AJ was so startled by the sight, thinking they had the wrong place after all, it took him a moment to recognize who this was, Harmon Rabb!

To be continued….


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

"Rabb?" AJ snapped.

"Ad…miral?" Harm stuttered.

"Harm?" Meredith gasped.

"Meredith?" Harm inquired.

It was at that point; Jordan entered the living room wearing a man's shirt with her hair wrapped up in a towel. "Aunt Meredith?"

"AUNT Meredith?" Harm demanded.

As Jordan opened the door wider so she could stand next to Harm, both Meredith and AJ could see clothes strewn about the floor near the couch. If their attire hadn't been enough of a give-away as to what was going on, this mess made it abundantly clear.

"I didn't know you knew my aunt, Harm," Jordan said looking at him rather than the two people with disapproving stares still standing in the hall.

"I told you at lunch that Admiral Chegwidden had been my boss!" he accused.

"I know, but you didn't mention you knew my aunt."

"Does it matter who knew who, with what has so clearly has been going on here?" Meredith demanded.

At the same time, AJ had asked, "Harm, what are you doing here?"

With a wry grin, Harm restrained himself from asking, 'I don't suppose you mean in this apartment?' instead he admitted, "I'm in town on a case."

As Harm was answering AJ, Jordan tried to deflect her aunt by saying, "Oh, you brought dinner! If you will give Harm and I a few minutes to get presentable, we can combine it with mine and eat." She grabbed Harm by the arm and pulled him along with her. She scooped up her dress and his underwear and headed to her bedroom still pulling him behind her.

Once they were in her bedroom, Jordan tossed the towel on the bed and unselfconsciously stripped off Harm's shirt. Throwing it and his underwear at him she said, "Get dressed." Her dress joined the towel on the bed as she went to her dresser to pull out jeans and a T-shirt. Combing her fingers through her hair, she put it into a ponytail and turned to find Harm buttoning his shirt. His underwear was on top of her dress.

"I'll get them later, I think we should get out there," he told her nodding towards the other room.

The minute Jordan and Harm left the room, Meredith demanded, "What are you going to do about this, AJ?"

"What do you expect me to do, Meredith?"

"Well…he was so clearly taking advantage of her!" she protested.

"He was? I'm sorry, darling, but I don't think so."

"But they were having sex!"

"So do we."

"But we're engaged!"

"We were sleeping together before we were engaged, Meredith," he reminded her gently.

"But we've known each other almost a year!"

Knowing that reminding Meredith their sexual relationship had started quite some time ago was futile, he decided to try another tact, "How do we know they haven't known each other even longer than you and I have?"

"Because he didn't know I was her aunt!"

"How is that relevant as to how long they've known each other?"

"If they've known each other a long time, then why wouldn't he know who her family was?"

"He just might not have connected the two of you, darling."

"But we have the same last name!"

"And yours is the only family in the world with that last name?

"Well, no…but don't you think you would have put it together?"

"Meredith, if I'd met Jordan on business why would I ever think that she had some relation to my ex-bosses fiancée?"

"Does what we saw when we got here look like 'business' to you?"

"No, but there's no telling how, why, or when, they met."

Before Meredith could answer that, the two in question came back into the room.

"Well, are we all ready to eat?" Jordan asked, as she headed right for the kitchen, basically leaving Harm to face the music alone.

Meredith glared at him, and then turned to AJ with a frown when he didn't immediately say something to Harm. When AJ just stared back at her, she once again turned her glare on Harm. "So, how long have you known my niece?" she demanded.

Not having faced an irate parent since his teenage years, he still recognized the look, he also knew that the truth would not set him free, but more likely would get him killed, so he hedged. "Oh, I don't know exactly, Meredith, it's been some time."

"Some time…like in months, or years?" she grilled him.

Jordan, who'd come back into the room with plates and silverware, tried to help out, "I think it was nine."

"Months?" Meredith seemed a bit less outraged now that she thought this was a long-term relationship.

AJ, trained observer that he was, had seen Jordan surreptitiously look at her watch before answering the question. So he was prepared for her response when she sighed and turned to face her aunt.

Jordan valued honesty even if she had bent and twisted the truth to her own ends when necessary, but she had no reason to lie to her aunt about this, after all she was an adult and had nothing to be ashamed of in what she and Harm had been doing. So she simply said, "No, nine this morning."

To be continued….


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Harm groaned, he couldn't imagine why Jordan had said what she had.

Meredith gasped, she couldn't believe she'd heard what Jordan had just said.

AJ sighed; he could guess what was going to happen next. He began unpacking the dinner they'd brought even though he knew Meredith wouldn't let this information pass without some heated comments.

"Do you mean to tell me that you just met him this morning and you've already been to bed with him?" Meredith demanded.

"Well, we didn't actually make it to the bed, Aunt Merry," Jordan grinned as she remembered their romp on the couch.

"That's not what I meant and you know it young lady!" her aunt nearly screeched.

Harm had retreated to the table to help AJ and hopefully stay out of Meredith's crosshairs as Jordan stated, "I'm over twenty-one ,Aunt Merry…hell I'm over thirty. And it's no concern of yours anyway. Now why don't we all sit down and eat?"

Meredith stood there with her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. AJ came over and put his arm around her shoulders, guiding her to the table. He held out a chair for her and softly said, "Meredith, why don't we focus on having a nice meal? We didn't find your restaurant for lunch, so I got Greek food especially for you."

Looking up at this kind and understanding man that was her fiancé, she smiled and said, "Thank you, AJ, you really are wonderful."

As they all sat down, AJ apologized, "Harm, I didn't know you'd be here so I don't know if there are any vegetarian dishes. I just asked them for an assortment.

Jordan jumped to her feet saying, "That's alright, AJ, I have meatless spaghetti here already, in case there's not."

Once everyone was settled at the table, AJ asked, "So, Harm, how does your case involve the ME's office?"

Before Harm could answer, Jordan replied, "Now, AJ, you know how hush-hush the CIA is. All that 'need to know' stuff. Suffice to say that Harm and I are working very closely on this case." She gave a sly grin, letting everyone know she meant more by 'closely' than on just the case.

Harm wondered if Jordan were trying to get him killed. Meredith, whom he'd considered a friend after their flying lessons, had not stopped glaring at him since the length of their association had been revealed. She was also, up to then, oddly silent.

"That wouldn't happen to be the case Max had us working on Saturday night, would it?"

"I can't say, Aunt Merry," Jordan told her.

"Max Cavanaugh…Detective Max Cavanaugh?" asked Harm, remembering the name from the police report.

"Yes, he's my brother, Jordan's father."

"And he was having you all work on a case on Saturday?" Harm wanted to know.

"Yes, we were re-enacting it from the case files!" replied Meredith

"He was asking you to help him do his job?"

"Oh no, he's not a detective any more, he owns a bar downtown. This was an old unsolved case of his."

Both AJ and Jordan were silent through this two-way conversation; they each wanted to see where it would go.

Outraged, Harm demanded, "He's retired and still has the case files in his possession?"

"Why shouldn't he? They were his cases and this was so exciting, a murder and all!"

"Murder?" Harm inquired suspiciously, glancing at Jordan.

"Yes, a man named Carl Travis," Meredith informed him.

Having his worst fears confirmed, he wondered how far Webb's orders of 'make it go away' went. After all, killing a two star Admiral, his college professor fiancée, her ex-cop brother, and his ME daughter might cause just a bit of a ruckus itself. Needing to know just how bad the situation was, Harm asked, "Who else was there at this re-enactment?"

"Oh, lets see, there was Jordan and I, AJ, Max, Dr. Macy, Lily, she really got into playing her part. Bug, Nigel, who didn't want to be the psycho killer bad guy again. Oh, and Detective Hoyt"

"Any reason why that case?" he inquired all the while thinking, 'Great! More to add to my 'hit' list! And a cop.'

"Well, it was because the parking lot was going to be dug up. When they did on Monday, they found the body. Just as Max had thought, the cases were connected! Then the weirdest thing happened, it turned out that AJ knew…OUCH!"

To be continued….


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Reaching down to rub her ankle, Meredith looked at AJ and asked reproachfully, "AJ, why did you kick me! We aren't still doing the re-enactment, and if we were, I'd much rather you'd kissed me like that wacky lady did Max's partner, instead of the kick."

"Wacky lady? You mean Clara Rose?" Harm asked.

Jordan jumped in hoping to keep Harm distracted from the reason AJ had kicked his fiancée. She still had some questions she wanted answered before AJ's involvement became known to Harm. "Yes, well, no, Lily kissed Garret."

"Wait a minute, how did we go from Clara Rose and the detective to Lily and Garret?" demanded Harm, more confused than ever.

"Well, Garret was Max's partner…"

Harm interrupted, "Macy was a detective before he was an ME?"

"No, no, no, he was just a detective on Saturday night," Jordan explained

"Huh?"

Seeing Harm's confusion, AJ took pity on him and clarified, "We were re-enacting the case, Garret was Max's old partner and Lily was Clara Rose."

"And she kissed Harm too!" chimed in Jordan.

"How the hell did you know that?"

"I told you I'd talked to her…"

"But why did she tell you that she kissed me?"

"Your name might have come up. She told me that you weren't a very good kisser. I'll have to go back and tell her she's wrong though."

Hating Webb for sending him on this mission, Harm advised, "I'd stay away from her if I were you! She's crazy as a loon! She admitted to hearing voices and whoever heard of keeping mistletoe up all year round?"

"She told me it was to promote the spirit of the season all year, and to let her kiss handsome single men. How do you think she knew you were single, Harm?" Jordan asked with a smirk.

"Well, I don't wear a ring, and when I went in, she asked me if I was there to buy perfume for my wife or girlfriend…actually, then she added, 'or both'…what do you think would make her think that?"

"Oh come on, Harm! You have to know that there are men out there who cheat on their wives!" Meredith said, but instead of looking at Harm, she was staring at AJ with a frown.

"I have never cheated on a woman in my life, Meredith, and I don't intend to start now," AJ assured her.

"Good!" she stated firmly.

"So, you may never cheat on a woman, but why would you kick one, Admiral?" Harm asked getting back to the subject everyone else had been trying to avoid.

"Would you like some more spaghetti, Harm?" Jordan jumped in.

"What I'd like, is to know what you all are trying so hard to keep from me. The CIA has jurisdiction in this case!"

"I thought we'd agreed that we were working on this case together!" Jordan demanded angrily.

"Working together? When you go behind my back to interview a witness after I'd told you not to?"

"As I reminded you before, you only told me not to talk to Carl's family," Jordan snapped.

Meredith challenged Harm heatedly, "Why would you tell her not to talk to them, Harm? His wife and daughter are so nice, even if her new husband is a controlling jerk!"

Jordan and AJ shared a resigned sigh. Even after being kicked Meredith didn't know when to keep her mouth shut.

"How in the world would you know that?" questioned Harm.

AJ forestalled Meredith's answer by laying a hand over hers and telling Harm, "Tuyen is my god daughter."

"And just how did that come about?"

"Carl and LaVon asked me and I agreed."

"That's NOT what I meant and you know it!" Harm nearly snarled.

"You really need to do your homework better, Harm. The answer should be in the file that Webb gave you. Darling, I think it's time we were going." He stood, helped Meredith to her feet, and added, "Have a good evening you two."

Jordan followed them, at the door, in a low voice, she told AJ, "I need to talk to you in private soon."

AJ reached into his wallet and handed her one of his business cards, "Use the cell phone number when you can talk."

After they left, Jordan returned to the table where Harm demanded, "What was all that whispering about?"

"It was private, Harm, that's why we were whispering!"

"If it was about the case…"

"As I said, it was private. Now I think it's time you left, Harm."

"Are you throwing me out?" he asked incredulously.

"No, I'm asking you to leave," she smiled sweetly.

To be continued….


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

"Well, now that we're finally alone, I was hoping, we could carry on in the bedroom…" Harm trailed off suggestively, giving her his famous grin.

"Not tonight, Harm, I have a headache," Jordan responded sarcastically, as she stood holding door, waiting for him to leave.

Perturbed at her dismissal of him, Harm told her in a disgruntled tone, "I'll be by your office first thing in the morning for your final report."

"Good luck with that," she answered cheerfully as she closed the door in his face.

Staring in frustration at the closed door, Harm felt like reiterating his jurisdiction over the case at her impertinence, but knew she would just ignore him. She was just as stubborn as Mac, and could be just as contrary when it suited her purposes. He would just have to outsmart her. But for now, he needed to get back to the hotel and reread the file. He had to find the connection between Travis and a two star Navy Admiral.

As soon as Jordan heard the freight elevator signaling Harm's departure, she dialed the number on the card AJ had given her.

Seeing "J. Cavanaugh" on his caller ID AJ answered, "Hello, Jordan. You got rid of Harm already?"

"Yes, not in the way Carl Travis was gotten rid of, but he did leave unhappy," she admitted with a grin.

Wincing at the thought of his friend's end, AJ responded, "I'm guessing you wanted to talk about the name you scrawled on the napkin last night?"

"She got rid of him, for good?" Meredith inquired.

"That's up to her," he said, trying to focus, as Jordan was saying, "Yes. So you don't deny you recognize it as a name?"

"Would it do me any good?" he questioned sardonically.

"No," she assured him. "I take it, that was Carl Travis' Vietnamese name?"

"Yes, it was. Where did you get it?"

"I'll tell you that, if you tell me where you knew him from."

"That's something we can't talk about on the phone. Why don't you come by for breakfast?"

"On one condition," she agreed with a sigh.

"What's that?"

"That is that I don't have to face Aunt Merry's cooking!"

With a soft chuckle he asked, "Do you like French toast?"

Meredith eagerly tapped his arm and he looked over at her. "Tell her I make great French toast! I put vodka in mine! I'm sure Max will have some."

Trying to suppress a shudder, AJ was about to pass that along to Jordan when she said, "I heard that! And if she's cooking I'm NOT coming!"

"I understand, and yes, I'll tell her."

"No! Please don't, AJ, I will never hear the end of it!"

Meredith was insisting on knowing, "Tell me what?"

"I'm sure she'll understand that vodka on a work day morning isn't a good idea. Since I only put cinnamon and nutmeg in mine, maybe you two lovely ladies will allow me to make breakfast tomorrow?"

In one ear he heard, "Oh thank you!" While in the other, he heard, "I guess vodka wouldn't be such a good idea."

"Wonderful," he said to both of them and then to Jordan, "So, we'll see you in the morning? 0800…sorry, 8am?"

She groaned at the thought of functioning at that hour, but agreed and said goodbye. In her bedroom, she stripped and tossed her clothes on the floor. Brushing her red dress, the towel, and Harm's underwear to the floor, she climbed into bed and fell asleep almost instantly. It had been a very full day!

Harm, on the other hand, had reached the hotel and delved into the Travis file. A short time later, after checking AJ's personnel file and discovering he had been a member of SEAL team 3, he had his answer. Trang had helped liberate the team from a POW camp in Viet Nam. Harm had a problem! Dialing Webb's cell he skipped any pleasantries and got right to it, "We have a problem."

To be continued….


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

"We?" questioned Webb.

"Yeah, WE," Harm snapped. "Remember a certain two star broken nose you got? Well he's here!"

"What the hell do you mean he's there?"

"His fiancée has family here. You mean you don't have all their files memorized?"

"He was your CO, I figured you knew. And the problem?"

"He's aware of the subject, and has knowledge of him pre-protection."

"It was his team. Damn! What's it going to take to make this go away?"

"I'm not sure yet. The ME on the case is his future niece-in-law. I'm still assessing how much Intel they've shared with each other."

"Do you want me to place a call, or can you handle him on your own?"

"I can deal with him," Harm stated.

"Just remember, he's no longer your boss."

"Got it," he said and abruptly ended the call.

Stripping down for bed, he remembered that his underwear was still at Jordan's and cursed. He should still be there and not here alone.

Thursday, 14 August 2003

0815 EST

Cavanaugh home

Boston, Massachusetts

"My god, AJ, this is the best French toast I've ever tasted!" Jordan exclaimed, then seeing her aunt's face quickly qualified her remark to sooth Meredith's hurt feelings, "But of course, I haven't tasted yours Aunt Merry. I do hope you understand I couldn't have it on a workday?"

"Yes, Jordie dear, we'll just have to make sure the next time we come for a visit that I make it for you on a weekend."

With a large bite in her mouth, Jordan just nodded as she reminded herself that Aunt Meredith's last trip to Boston had been eleven years ago. She could only pray that her next one would be far enough away that she would forget this conversation.

Between bites she said, "Okay, AJ, you were going to tell me how you came to know Carl Travis, or should I say Chinh Trang?"

AJ corrected her pronunciation of Carl's real name, and then asked, "How much has your aunt told you about me?"

"Not much really, just that you're the Navy JAG, that you were divorced, and you have a daughter in Italy," Jordan answered him.

"Well, in my younger days I was a SEAL," at Jordan's blank look AJ elaborated, "Sea Air and Land teams, special units sort of like the Green Berets." When she nodded, he went on, "I was a part of SEAL team three and we were behind enemy lines in Viet Nam on a mission. We were captured and tortured. Finally one of our captors, Chinh Trang, helped us to escape. He offered to reveal the locations of other POW camps for safe passage to the States. Once he did, he was placed in the witness protection program."

"Wow, tortured, that's some story! And the two of you stayed in touch after that?"

"Yes, until I got LaVon's letter telling me he'd disappeared. Now you were going to tell me where you got Carl's real name, I know it wasn't from Rabb."

"You're right, Harm doesn't know I know. I got it from Clara Rose. She claims that Carl told her through her Ouija board."

"Oh, he did, did he?" he replied.

"I know how that sounds, but how could she have gotten the name any other way?" Jordan asked.

"But he's DEAD!" Meredith had to put in.

"Yes, but we both know that Mac has her visions, why couldn't someone else have similar abilities?" AJ asked his fiancée.

Jordan sat there amazed. If Nigel's reaction had surprised her, this reaction stunned her! 'An Admiral in the Navy, respected by everyone around him for his sound judgment, believed in the supernatural?' she could hardly take it in.

"I guess so," Meredith reluctantly admitted.

"I would certainly like to meet this woman," AJ added.

"Just be careful! She has a habit of kissing handsome single men," Jordan warned with a laugh.

"I'll make sure that she KNOWS he is taken!" Meredith insisted, taking hold of his arm.

"Well, on that note, I think I've delayed enough to make one Harmon Rabb even more upset than he was last night when he left," Jordan smirked.

"I think it's good that the two of you broke up," Meredith offered. "He just doesn't seem right for you. I think that nice detective would be much better, he could keep an eye on you."

"Him and everyone else, Aunt Merry!" Jordan sighed, and after bending to give her aunt a kiss on the cheek she left for work.

To be continued….


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Sticking his head into Jordan's office, already talking, Nigel was saying, "I have the tox screen you wanted on the Baldwin case…" when he saw Harm sitting on her couch, obviously waiting on the woman who had not yet arrived.

"She's not here yet," Harm announced unnecessarily.

"I can see that. But it's only 9:30. On planet-Jordan, that means she won't late for another half an hour yet."

"She'd never make it in the military," Harm grumbled.

Giving him an odd glace, Nigel said, "Well then, it's a good thing she's not."

"She can be as irritating as that physic nutcase!"

Brightening considerably, Nigel asked, "Do you mean Clara Rose?"

"Yes, that woman, and I use the term loosely, is insane!"

"Really? I met her yesterday and had a reading by her. She seemed very insightful."

"She even claimed to hearing voices!"

"That just makes her special…"

"I don't know about special, but I got the strangest feeling while I was in that shop. I just couldn't think straight…"

"Oh it was probably the Lophophora incense she was using."

"Lophophora? I've never heard of it."

"Well, the Native Americans call it Peyote..."

"Great, no wonder my head was spinning. Listen, I just came in to get the Travis file from Jordan. Was there anything new, or can you just get it for me so I can go?"

"Nothing new that I know of," Nigel told him, a bit put out at being cut off so abruptly. "The file should be here on her desk," he added, making a show of rifling through the folders piled there, but not really looking.

"What are you looking for this time Nige?" Jordan asked as she entered her office.

Looking up, Nigel nodded at Harm and said, "He wanted the Travis file."

Jordan's cheerful smile changed to a strained one when she saw Harm rising from her couch. "Okay, I'll handle it from here Nigel, you can go."

"Okay, I'll just put the Baldwin tox screen here with the rest of this disaster," he told her, plopping the file in his hand on top of the precarious stack on her desk.

"What do you want Harm?" she asked as soon as Nigel left the room.

"I told you that I would be here first thing in the morning for the Travis report."

"This is the first thing in the morning," she said as she took a seat at her desk.

"Only on planet-Jordan," he muttered.

"I see that you and Nigel had time to talk," she said with a smirk.

"Yes, we had plenty of time before you got here… this morning..."

"I had breakfast with Aunt Merry and AJ, and you know how she likes to talk."

"You do know that Chegwidden is not in the 'need to know' loop on this case?" he demanded.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he already knows more than you want him to."

"Jordan, you were talking to him about it this morning?"

"Harm, I told you, to solve this case I'd talk to anyone I needed to!"

"This case is mine!"

"Yes, but why do I get the feeling that you want to make it all go away, rather that solving it?"

"That is none of your business!"

"Then, there's the door, Mr. Rabb," pointing at it.

"Don't make me go over your head on this, Ms. Cavanaugh!"

She jumped up into his face and declared, "So many people have tried, that I'd have athletes foot of the scalp by now if they'd succeeded!" She bent down so he could look at the top of her head, and asked, "Does it look like I have that problem?"

"Let me guess, you ignore Macy's authority over you too?"

"I make sure I get what I want."

"How, are you sleeping with him too?"

Her hand made contact with his face as he finished his question. Harm should have been angry at the slap, but she was so close to him, with her eyes flashing and her chest heaving, all he could think was, 'God, she's hot when she's angry!'

Harm yanked her into his arms and kissed her forcefully.

Jordan was shocked, this was the last thing she had expected. 'Clara really did have it wrong! Harm was a great kisser!' she thought as she returned the kiss just as forcefully. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him until he backed up.

The couch caught Harm behind the knees, he fell back with Jordan on top of him. She reached out and locked the office door so they wouldn't be interrupted.

What was it with this woman and angry sex? Not that he was complaining. He'd come to Boston expecting just another routine mission and here he was in the arms of this hot brunette.

Jordan yanked off his tie and went to work on the buttons of his shirt as he pulled her tank-top off over her head.

He was damned if he'd let her be on top again! As Harm reached around to unhook her bra, he rolled her under him on the couch, his last coherent thought was to be glad that he'd placed another condom in his wallet.

To be continued….


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

They were putting their clothes to rights when someone tried the door and found it locked. "Damn it Jordan!" came Woody's voice, "Don't you even come in before noon these days?"

Harm and Jordan exchanged looks, she quietly said, "Give him a few minutes to get out of here and then you can go."

Shaking his head he told her, "I'm not leaving without that report."

"It's not done yet!" she whispered fiercely.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"

"Fine!" Jordan snapped. She unlocked her bottom drawer and handed him the file. "But this won't stop me from trying to find out who killed him!"

"Damn it Jordan," he snarled, unconsciously duplicating Woody's words, "If his killer is still around, what makes you think he won't come after you if you get too close!"

"I'm a big girl, don't worry about me!"

Angry that she wasn't listening, Harm stated, "Okay, it's your funeral!" as he stormed out the door. He saw Woody at the reception desk leaving a message for Jordan, "If you're looking for Jordan, she's in her office."

"No she's not, I was just there."

"I'd check again…I just left her," Harm smirked as he stepped into the elevator.

Throwing a skeptical glance Harm's way, Woody nonetheless headed down the hall to Jordan's office.

He wasn't quite surprised to find her door open, but he did wonder what the deal was, until he entered the room. Jordan's hair was a mess and the room smelled heavily of sex. It was pretty clear she and Rabb had been in here when he tried the door, and what they had been doing.

"So Rabb was just here."

"How did you know?"

"I met him in the hall. Jordan, do you know what you're doing? You just met him."

"Woody, I really don't think that's any of your business. Now did you have a reason for stopping by, other than concern about my personal life?"

"Of course I did! I came by to find out if you have any more on the case, and to let you know that I'd done a trace on the gun. There are only two Makarov PM 9mm registered in the US. One is at the J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum in Oklahoma and the other belonged to a Russian national that became a US citizen in 1955. He died thirty years ago and the gun now belongs to his thirty-six year old grandson. Since it's unlikely a twelve year old killed Travis, I'm guessing it wasn't one of those."

"Nice work Woody! You might want to pass that info along to AJ Chegwidden and ask him about his connection to Carl Travis."

"Why would I do that?" he questioned.

"Because, he has an interesting story to tell that is very relevant to the case."

"And why can't you just tell me?"

"Oh never mind," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him along with her. "We'll go together, three heads are better than one!"

They arrived at Max's to find AJ and Jordan's father in front of the TV with the sports channel on. They were watching a baseball game. "Where's Aunt Merry?" Jordan asked.

"I told her I'd take her out dancing tonight and she wanted to buy a special dress. She brought three bags for a week, but she claimed she needed something new," AJ sighed.

"Women!" Jordan exclaimed, and the three men laughed.

"What brings you two here in the middle of a workday?" her father asked.

"I thought we might brain storm about this case and see if we could figure out who killed Chinh Trang."

"Who?" Woody and Max exclaimed, as AJ stiffened at the mention of Carl's real name.

Seeing AJ's look, Jordan said, "What can it matter if all this comes out now AJ? It was over two decades ago and he's gone now. Doesn't his family deserve to know what happened?"

AJ nodded slowly and then briefly retold the story of how he met Chinh Trang, as well as how he became Carl Travis.

To be continued….


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Jordan then took up the story, reporting that there had been three shots fired that night and that the unaccounted one had lodged in the telephone pole. She went on to tell how Clara had found it and kept it all those years. Next she told them of Nigel's discoveries and that he was able to determine the type of gun used had been a Makarov.

Woody took his turn and reported what his gun trace had turned up.

Max noticed the odd look on AJ's face and when Woody finished talking he asked AJ about it.

"There are actually two things going around in my head, I'm just not sure how they're connected, but I'm pretty sure they are."

"Share them with us," Max directed. "We can all wrap our heads around it and pick it apart."

Nodding his agreement, AJ began, "I'm familiar with the Makarov. The South Vietnamese used it during the war, so I know one when I see one. Several years ago, just after LaVon had remarried, I was in town visiting her. She gave me a tour of the house, which included Chuck's den where he housed his gun collection. He had a Makarov in one of the cases."

"Wait a minute, isn't Trask Vietnamese just like Travis was?" Woody interjected.

"Yes," AJ replied.

Then Jordan jumped in with, "Clara Rose said both men were talking in a language she didn't understand! Since one was Carl and we have to assume he spoke his native language, then Trask could have been the other! Who better to know than the owner of the lot, that a slab of concrete would cover the evidence of a murder the very next morning? But why would Trask kill Travis? Could he have been having an affair with Lavon and wanted Carl out of the way?"

AJ was shaking his head 'no' as Woody asked, "But Clara Rose said there were three men that night, where's the third one fit in?"

"LaVon didn't meet Chuck until after Carl's disappearance," explained AJ, "She loved her husband very much and waited for years for him to come back. She had no way of knowing that he was dead. However, something clicked the night we were working on the case together, the fact that Trask owned that lot threw up a red flag. I called Bud Roberts, our computer whiz at JAG, and had him do some checking on Chuck Trask. It seems there is no record of him ever having existed beyond twenty-five years ago. As for the third man present the night of the shooting, Tuyen mentioned that she thought Trask's foreman, Ralph Franks, had something on him. He may have been the third man."

"That still doesn't explain why Trask would want to kill Travis," Jordan reasoned, "We need to know what the connection between the two of them was. You don't pull up someplace in a car, get out, and shoot a guy for no reason! If it had been robbery why bring him to the lot? AJ discounted the jealousy or passion reason, so that would just leave power. Somehow I don't see Travis as a very powerful man."

Max spoke up, "He'd already told about the POW camps, so it wasn't to silence him."

"And it was eight years later before he was killed, so not likely that his murder was related to that," Woody added.

"Unless, it was somehow family related. In Viet Nam, family honor is a big thing. If someone thought Carl betrayed that honor, but it took them time to track him down because of the new identity, his murder could have been related to his giving us the locations of the POW camps," AJ stated.

"How can we find out if the two of them had a family connection?" Jordan wondered aloud.

"You can bet it's in the CIA file on Carl. Clayton Webb, Rabb's boss, has detailed files on everyone. I'm sure he could tell you what brand of toothpaste I prefer!" AJ told them.

"Mr. Webb didn't seem to know you were in Boston, or at least he hadn't informed Harm if he did," Jordan smirked.

"Why do you think that?" Woody asked.

"Because of the look of shock on his face when Meredith and I arrived at Jordan's apartment last night," AJ explained.

To be continued….


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Jordan sighed, noticing Woody's hurt look, but didn't really know what to do about it. She blocked that out for now and refocused on the case, "Well then, if you think Harm's file could have useful information, is it time to call him in on this pow-wow?"

"I'll give him a call," AJ agreed reluctantly.

"It might be better if I called him," Jordan chimed in. "Since we're supposed to be working together on this."

"Yes, it might be. He's not too happy with me for processing his resignation and for not letting him back into the Navy," AJ admitted wryly.

With a nod, Jordan stepped out of the room so she didn't have to face Woody's accusing stare.

"Harm, you're busy right now, but I was wondering if you could come over?"

"Sure, give me a few minutes to finish up here," he agreed happily.

"I'm at my dad's place, let me give you the address."

"Jordan? Why are we meeting at your father's place?"

"Well, that's where everybody is."

"And just who, is everybody?"

"Woody, my dad, and AJ, and we need you to bring the Travis file."

Harm's pleased attitude took a sullen turn, "That's a top secret document, I can't reveal anything in it," he told her firmly.

"Like the fact that Travis' real name was Chinh Trang and that he was in the witness protection program because he gave up locations of POW camps?" she asked sweetly.

"How the hell…Chegwidden! Jordan, that's classified information!"

"Listen, all I know is that we have pieces of the puzzle that you don't and that the file might have the final piece that we need to put this together. So, you can either come over here now and brainstorm with us, or I'll have AJ go over your head and call Clayton Webb!" Jordan didn't know if AJ would actually do that, but she'd been threatened with it often enough herself that she felt her ploy was plausible.

"Fine!" Harm snapped and ended the call.

He arrived twenty minutes later and Jordan met him at the door with a smile, this only made Harm's annoyance with her worse. She led him into the living room where the three men were. Jordan introduced him to her father and after they shook hands, she offered Harm a seat.

Knowing it was better to be on the attack rather than on the defensive, Harm demanded, "Alright just what is going on here?"

Jordan stepped up to him and said, "As I told you Harm, we're putting our heads together to see if we can figure out who might have killed Travis. I think we each have information the others need, so I was hoping that we could all work together on this."

"I'm not here to share information," Harm bluntly stated.

AJ stepped forward at the point and said, "Harm, Carl has been dead for twenty five years, the information that he was in the program for is even older. How can it possibly hurt to put our heads together and solve his murder? Doesn't he deserve that? And doesn't his family deserve the peace of knowing what happened to him? They've lived all these years wondering…"

"It wouldn't hurt to try and solve his murder, if we can after all this time," Harm agreed.

"That's why we are here, to try and put all the pieces together!" Woody jumped in.

Ignoring Detective Hoyt, Harm turned to AJ, "You know that I can't reveal what's in his file."

"Harm, there's not much in there we don't already know," AJ told him.

"Just what is it that you know?"

"From the ballistic report Nigel did, we know that he was shot with a Makarov PM 9mm," Jordan offered.

Harm snapped, "Why didn't you tell me that before? I could have…"

"I told you when you took the report that it wasn't done!" Jordan interrupted indignantly.

Harm quickly continued to cover that he knew she was right, "If I'd known, I would have run a gun check, there can't be many like that in the US."

"There are two registered, "Jordan smirked, "both are accounted for."

To be continued….


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Harm glared at Jordan and looked about ready to explode at her when AJ stepped between them and said, "Harm, what we need to know is what family Carl had in Vietnam?"

"Why?" Harm inquired, still glaring at Jordan.

"Because," Jordan jumped in, "Ms. Rose said that both of the smaller men were speaking a language she didn't understand. We're thinking it might have been Vietnamese. AJ explained how important family honor is there and we wondered if somehow a member of Carl's family had tracked him down to avenge the family."

"Jordan, that's classified information!" Harm insisted.

"Harm, he's dead, what is there to protect any longer?" AJ questioned.

Seeing Harm's hesitation, Max spoke up, "Now as I see it, we told you about the gun, so isn't it time for you to step up to the plate?"

With a sigh, Harm opened the report in his hand and quickly scanned the information. "Chinh Trang had an older brother Chegh. At the time he went into the program his mother and grandmother were also alive."

"Thank you Harm," AJ said, making a note so he could have Bud look for information.

"So what else do you have?" Harm wanted to know.

Jordan looked at AJ obviously wondering if he was going to say something about the Makarov in Chuck's gun collection.

"We know there was a third man at the scene that night from what Clara Rose told us," Woody informed him.

"I knew that," replied Harm. "Is that all?"

"The owner of the land where the body was buried is Vietnamese, Chuck Trask, so we're checking into any possible connection to him," Max volunteered.

"Trask is married to Carl's widow, LaVon," AJ reported, "If he was Carl's brother, even if he killed him, he could have still felt a family obligation to take care of his sister-in-law and niece."

"I'll check my sources," Harm said.

"I guess that's really all we can do here then, 'til we know more," Jordan stated, then added, "I'd better get back to work before Garrett fires me. Dad, thanks for letting us have this pow-wow here."

She headed for the door with Woody on her heels. She found her Aunt on the other side struggling with packages in her hands and trying to open the door.

"Oh thank you, Jordie dear! How ever did you know I was out here needing help?" Meredith asked.

"I didn't Aunt Merry, Woody and I were just leaving."

"Oh, did I miss something?" she asked clearly disappointed.

"We were just talking about the case, but we need to get back to work now. Come on Woody," Jordan said holding the door open so he could go through.

As they were leaving Meredith came into the living room and spotted Harm. "What are you doing here?" she questioned.

"He's here to go over the case with us," AJ told her.

Turning to look at her brother Meredith demanded, "How could you have him here knowing he's taken advantage of Jordie?"

"What?" Max exclaimed getting to his feet.

"Didn't AJ tell you that we caught them together last night?"

"Meredith, Jordan is a grown woman, and her love life is none of our business!" AJ replied at the same time Max was saying, "No, he didn't mention that!"

Max stared at Harm, "Would you care to explain yourself?"

"Your daughter has assured me that she is of legal age and therefore I have nothing more to say on the subject."

"Then I think you should be going now!" Max declared, going over to the door and holding it open for Harm to leave.

Without another word Harm left the apartment, the door had barely closed behind him when Max started grilling AJ and his sister, "How the hell long has that been going on?"

"They only met yesterday morning!" Meredith informed him.

Shaking his head, Max once again sat down, "I don't know what's going to become of her, acting like that."

"She seems to have a pretty level head on her shoulders Max," AJ offered. "I think she's more than capable of handling herself."

Meredith stared at him in outrage, "AJ, how would you feel if this was your daughter?"

To be continued….


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

"Francesca is an adult. I respect her privacy and trust her judgment in dealing with her lovers. The only time I interfered was when one of them kidnapped her. I got shot in the leg and she ended up killing him to save my life."

Max was looking a bit dazed at that information and was thinking that maybe he didn't have it quite so bad if Jordan was sleeping with men she'd just met.

"You never told me that AJ!" Meredith chided.

"It's not something I advertise, Meredith."

"But we should tell each other everything!" she protested.

Her brother snorted.

"What?" she demanded of him with a glare.

"Oh, like you've told the man everything about your past?" Max questioned her.

Before Meredith could respond, AJ stepped in, "We don't need to know everything about the other's past. We just need to have trust in each other, to know that our future is secure in the other's hands."

"Oh AJ, that's beautiful!" Meredith exclaimed giving him an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek before adding, "I should unpack the things I bought, and then start getting ready for our special evening."

"It's barely noon!" Max protested.

"I know, but I need to steam the wrinkles out of my new dress, do my hair and nails, then take a long bath, do my makeup, and then get dressed!" She checked her watch with a worried frown. "What time did you want to have dinner, darling?"

"Whenever you're ready, Meredith."

"Okay, how about six then?"

"That sounds good," he replied as she hurried off.

When the two men were alone Max asked AJ, "How in the world did the two of you ever get together?"

AJ smiled and took a seat, "My Chief of Staff introduced us. Meredith and Mac have been friends for some time. Why do you ask?"

"Mac? Are you sure the two of them weren't more than just friends?" Max asked with concern.

With a chuckle, AJ replied, "Colonel Sarah Mackenzie. Mac is just her nick name."

"Oh…well, I asked because it just seems that you're so incompatible."

"Really? How so?"

"She's such a thrill seeker, and you seem so…ummm calm."

"Well, they say opposites attract," AJ laughed.

Shaking his head Max said, "They must."

The two of them went back to watching the game that was on, only taking a break to make sandwiches for lunch. Neither was surprised when Meredith didn't rejoin them for the rest of the afternoon.

It was twenty to six when AJ got up. "Where are you going?" Max wanted to know.

"I thought I'd grab a shower and shave before getting dressed."

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Max snorted, "You're assuming my sister will be ready on time?"

"Not in the least. But on the off chance she is, do you have any idea what would happen if I wasn't?"

Wincing, Max nodded and waved him off.

A short time later AJ rejoined Max, dressed in a light gray suit. Both men were surprised when at only ten after the hour; Meredith came into the room and announced she was ready to go.

After several minutes of compliments on her hair and attire, AJ guided her to the door. He missed Max rolling his eyes at what he'd thought was too much ado.

During dinner, Meredith questioned AJ about what had gone on at the meeting. He told her they thought that Chuck Trask might have been Carl's brother. "Didn't that Rose woman identify Carl from a picture?"

"Yes, why darling?"

"Well, has anyone thought to show her a picture of Trask?" Meredith suggested. "I mean if it was him, she might be able to identify him too!"

Amazed that no one else had thought of that, he said, "That's a wonderful idea! I'll talk to LaVon and see if she has a picture of Chuck from back then."

"How will you explain that AJ? You can't tell her, 'we think your second husband killed your first, and we need a picture of him so we can get an ID to have him charged with his murder'!"

"I'm sure I can find a way, Meredith. If it comes down to it, I know she loved Carl very much, and if Chuck did kill him, she'd want him to be held accountable."

"From what Tuyen said at lunch, they both seem to be under Chuck's control. What if they're afraid of him?"

"Wouldn't that be all the more reason to turn the man in? But in any case, we need to make sure that they're safe when, and if, we're ready to capture Trask."

"Can you convince them to go out of town?"

"I doubt that Chuck would let them go. The easiest solution would be to get him during the day when he's at his office."

When Meredith didn't answer, AJ looked over at her, he noticed her writing something on paper she had taken from her purse. "What is it darling?"

Looking up at him she smiled and asked, "Did anyone think it odd that all four men we are dealing with have the same initials?"

"What?" AJ gasped.

"Chinh and Chegh Trang, Carl Travis and Chuck Trask…in fact all three last names start with T R A!"

"I can't believe someone didn't notice that before!" he exclaimed.

With a triumphant grin, she said, "It just comes from being a college professor, darling!"

To be continued….


	57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

The door of Max's bar was pushed open and in walked a green haired apparition! Or at least several of the nearby patrons hoped that was what it was. One man, deep in his cups, looked up and after paying for his drink, got up, determined to find the nearest AA meeting.

The patrons parted to allow this woman a clear path to the bar. Max, who'd been on the phone, didn't see her until the grating greeting alerted him to her presence. "Ooooo hello Maxie dear!"

"Ms. Rose! What brings you to my humble bar?" Max asked, desperately trying to think of a way out of there.

"Oh my dear…you're sweet daughter told me how you've been yearning after me all this time, and I figured that if you were to shy to come for me yourself, then I would just have to come for you…you see, I even dyed my hair Irish green, just for you!" Clara told him patting her newly colored hair.

"Jordan told you what?" he demanded incredulously, wondering if he could actually kill his own daughter.

"She told me that even after all these years, you couldn't get me out of your mind… so I consulted the cards… they told me that tonight was the perfect night for our budding romance to being… so here I am, Maxie dear."

Max had faced high-speed chases and armed criminals with less trepidation than he faced this woman now. Why in the world had Jordan done this to him and how in the hell was he going to get out of it without insulting Clara? Catching the gleam of the neon beer sign behind him on his wedding band, Max prayed that he would be forgiven for the lie he was about to tell, "Ms. Rose, although I might find my life lonely and unfulfilled, the memory of my beloved wife, Jordan's mother, keeps me from being able to freely give my heart to another," he declared sadly.

"Oh my…such devotion…how rare…how romantic…but you know she would probably want you to go on and love again…how long has she been gone now…well no matter about that…I'm sure that we could contact her through my Ouija board and get her permission for us to start courting…I'm sure she would understand that Jordan needs a mother and you a wife…"

Max was looking frantically up and down the bar, but he was a good proprietor and most of the patron's glasses were nearly full. Finally spotting one mug of beer that was almost half empty, he held up a finger to Clara and told her, "Excuse me, I need to see to a customer." Snatching the mug right out of the man's hand, he topped it off saying, "Time for a refill."

Over the man's protests, Max muttered, "On the house."

Struggling up onto the stool Clara settled in to wait for Max to return to her. She glanced at the man on her right; he was holding his hand up trying to hide his face from the talkative woman next to him. She could see where there was a pale band on his hand. A wedding ring had obviously been recently removed, and she exclaimed, "Oh you poor dear! You've lost your wife just like my Maxie…but at least you're ready to move on… you've taken off your ring! How brave of you! You should talk to my Maxie and tell him that it is okay for him to let his wife go too!"

Trying to ignore the annoying woman at his side, the man waved to Max for a refill. Unfortunately, Clara took this to mean he was going to do her bidding.

Max, always alert to his customer's needs, saw him wave and reluctantly returned to that end of the bar. Refilling the man's scotch and water, he tried to tune out Clara's ramblings about dating. However, she was not a woman one could easily ignore. He saw a couple of patrons leave as she started looking around for more help.

Coming around the bar, he took her by the hand and gently led her to a secluded table for two. After seating her, he sat down and said, "Ms. Rose…Clara…I'm honored that you came in tonight, but as you can see, we're very busy. A woman of your caliber deserves a man's full attention. So, if you wouldn't think me too forward, could I suggest that we meet some other time and place when we'd have more time to talk?"

"Oh that would be lovely, Maxie dear…I have to admit that I'm not comfortable in bars. Why don't you let me make lunch for you tomorrow? I bet that even though it's been years since you were there… you remember where I live…don't you?"

He reluctantly admitted that he did, and in the interest of keeping his clientele, he agreed to meet her for lunch. Maybe between now and then he could think of a way to let her down easy.

Getting up and walking Clara to the door, he was surprised when she gave him a peck on the cheek before leaving. As he turned to go back to the bar, he received a round of applause for getting rid of her.

To be continued….


	58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Friday, 15 August 2003

0630 EST

Cavanaugh home

Boston, Massachusetts

The next morning, AJ told Max about Meredith's ideas over early morning coffee. Max had the same reaction as AJ had. "Why didn't any of us come up with that?"

"That's why it's good to have several minds working on things. Each has unique views and can see things from different angles."

"Well, my sister's brain definitely works in different angles than most. How are you going to get an old picture of Trask?" Max asked him.

"I've been thinking about it, and feel that Tuyen might be the one to ask."

"What a mess that'll be if we're right."

"Yes, it will be. Do you think we should tell Jordan and Woody what's going on, or check it out first?"

"Well, Woody's the only one with jurisdiction, but your god-daughter would certainly respond better to you. Why don't we wait to call them in 'til we have something concrete?"

"Good plan, now we just have to hope that Ms. Rose can identify him."

"You're not going to believe this, but that woman stopped by the bar last night! It seems that my darling daughter told her I wanted to date her!"

AJ had just taken a sip of coffee and nearly sprayed it across the room as he tried to contain his laughter at Max's horrified look.

"She even dyed her hair GREEN thinking I would like it because I was Irish! What could Jordan have been thinking of?"

Nearly choking on his coffee, AJ asked, "Have you done anything lately to make her angry at you?"

"Not that I know of, but I'll find a way to pay her back for this. I had to agree to have lunch with Clara today to get her to leave the bar."

AJ tried, but was unsuccessful, at hiding his grin before he said, "Well in that case if I can get a picture of Trask you can take it along and show her."

"I have a better idea, why don't you get the picture and then show up with it to rescue me?" Max pleaded.

"I suppose I could to that. I have to admit to a curiosity about this woman. Colonel Mackenzie has some kind of psychic abilities as well and I never believed it until I saw what she did."

At Max's skeptical look AJ explained how Mac had found Harm and Chloe when they were both lost, and concluded, "It might be interesting to see if Miss Rose has similar abilities."

"So you'll show up later today and get me out of there?" Max questioned.

"Out of where, Max?" Meredith asked as she entered the room still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Clara Rose's clutches," he told her, and went on to explain what had happened last night.

"I don't want you going over there alone, AJ, because of the way she kisses any man that walks through the door, so if your going, I'm going along!"

"He wouldn't be there alone, he'd be there to rescue me!"

"Nonetheless, I'm not going to trust her with my fiancée! Either I go, or AJ doesn't."

"Meredith, it's fine with me if you want to go along," AJ interjected before brother and sister could start arguing.

"Good, then that's settled," she declared.

AJ placed the call to Tuyen and explained what he wanted and why he felt it should be kept from LaVon until they were sure.

Tuyen's answer was, "But I don't like to keep things from mother, Danh tu AJ."

"I know that dear, but you do see how this could needlessly upset her if we're wrong."

"I don't think you're wrong, Danh tu. In fact I wouldn't be at all surprised if Ba's foreman was the third man that night."

"You could be right, is there any way you could get Chuck's picture to me?"

"I could tell mother that I was going to lunch with you and Ms. Cavanaugh to discuss wedding plans Tuyen offered."

"That would be fine, my dear. And since Meredith with be with me, the two of you can do just that so you won't be lying to your mother."

"But a lie of omission is still a lie, and I won't be telling her about bringing you the picture, so I will be lying about that."

"I'm sorry Tuyen, I shouldn't have asked you to do that," AJ told her regretfully.

"No, Danh tu, it's all right, I understand you only want to protect mother, and I will bring the picture. I am sure she will forgive me if your suspicions prove true."

They made plans are to where and what time to meet before ending the call.

To be continued….


	59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Max arrived at the Bay Street Psychic Shoppe for his 'date' right on time. He hadn't wanted to be early to seem eager. Taking a deep breath, he entered the shop.

Clara looked up as the bell announced a new arrival. When she saw it was Max she hurried forward to greet him with a kiss. "Oh hellooo, Maxie dear…you're right on time…just as I knew you would be…after all punctuality is so important for a police officer…and even though you aren't one anymore…I'm sure that old habits die hard…and speaking of habits…do you remember that show 'The Flying Nun'…I caught one of the old reruns last night and thought how fun that would be to be able to fly…have you ever wanted to fly…of course you couldn't be a nun…maybe more like Superman!" Clara closed her eyes for just a moment picturing Max in spandex tights, and a cape, a shudder of delight went through her, but this was only their first date and she shouldn't be thinking such things!

Stunned at her verbal barrage, Max didn't have time to respond before Clara was off again, "My mother always taught me that the way to a man's heart was through his tummy…so I looked up some Irish dishes in my cook books and made you a real Irish meal…although I did have to go to the store for the turnips, leeks, and cabbage…I didn't have any of that and I didn't know what a brisket was so I used some left over roast beef that I had…I put it all together to make Irish Boiled Dinner! I do so hope that you'll like it…just let me put the 'closed for lunch' sign in the window and lock the door and we can go upstairs."

As she led him up to her apartment she said, "I didn't know if there was a special Irish tea…so I just made green tea…it's so good for you and it's the right color…speaking of color…you never did say if you liked my hair…I made it green for you…I thought about blue because you had been a police officer…but since you aren't anymore and you will always be Irish I went with green…"

They had reached her kitchen where there was a small table set for two near the window. Max was looking around and thinking that not much had changed at all in the twenty-five years since he'd been there last. He didn't realize that the blessed silence was his cue to speak until his eyes came to rest on Clara who was giving him an expectant stare. Not sure what to say, he tried to play it diplomatically, "Clara you didn't have to do that for me…"

"But Maxie dear…I only wanted to please you! In fact…I've started to watch reruns of 'Cheers' so I would learn how things work in your bar…that Sam and Elaine really had problems getting together…they really should have just talked through their differences…"

"Clara, you do know that they were characters on a show and not real…right?" Max asked doubting her sanity.

"Of course I do, Dearie…but you can so easily get wrapped up in their lives…but never mind that…let's eat." Over the meal, Clara once again brought up the subject of the two of them dating, "You know, Maxie dear, it would be very easy to contact your dearly departed wife and make sure that she doesn't mind you dating…after all if she told you herself…well through my Ouija board…that you had her permission…what else would there be to hold you back…I mean we already know that your dear daughter approves of our seeing each other…"

Max felt that it was now time to put up or shut up and since he had no desire whatsoever to date this woman, he said, "Well, I didn't want to be so blunt about it, but to tell you the truth there is something that Jordan doesn't know about my life, and I like it that way. I get along just fine alone, I really have no desire at all to change my life in that way. My wife was the love of my life and anything else would just be a dim second best, so I see no reason to put another woman in her place and then have her hurt when she found out that I felt that way."

To be continued….


	60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60

"Oh!" Clara gasped, for one of the very few times in her life, totally speechless.

"I didn't want to hurt you with that information, but felt that only the truth would make you understand why I wasn't in the market for a relationship."

"I…I…I…" she sighed softly. "Thank you for telling me, Max, I'm sorry if my interest in you caused you any embarrassment."

"You didn't, Clara. I was flattered, but I just don't think that we're looking for the same things out of life."

"It seems you're right. But that doesn't have to stop us from being friends does it?" she questioned somewhat wistfully.

"No, it doesn't," he admitted, relieved to have dodged that bullet. They finished lunch, which actually was quite good, even though it was a bit heavy for a mid day meal. At 1:00 they heard a knock on the shop door and Max knew it was AJ and Meredith there to rescue him.

"It seems I have customers," Clara said getting up to go downstairs. Max gladly followed.

As Clara unlocked the door Max heard her say, "Oooo what a handsome man! Too bad he has a woman with him."

Grinning to himself, he was glad that she had already gotten over the loss of her Maxie-dear! He watched her open the door and greet the newcomers.

Meredith barely acknowledged the greeting, she was too busy looking up. Spotting the infamous mistletoe, she planted herself firmly under it, determined not to let this woman catch AJ there.

"Clara, this is my sister Meredith and her fiancée Admiral Chegwidden."

"Hello Dearies, any family of Max's is always welcome here," Clara declared. "You must be the man of the stars that I told that nice Detective Hoyt about!"

"Ms. Rose…" AJ began, but was interrupted.

"Oh please call me Clara!"

With a smile he said, "Alright, Clara, I was hoping to ask you about the night that you saw Carl Travis murdered."

"Certainly! I so want to help that poor dear man find peace. He was so worried about his wife and daughter when I spoke with him that night. I do hope that they are alright."

"They're fine, Ms…Clara. In fact, Meredith and I just had lunch with his daughter Tuyen. I'm her godfather. We're hoping to solve Carl's murder so they can have some closure on this. I have two pictures that I'd like to show you to see if you might recognize someone from that night."

"Two?" Max questioned surprised.

"Yes, Tuyen was very helpful," AJ told him. Pulling out the picture of Chuck and LaVon he showed it to Clara.

"That's him!" she gasped and her hand fluttered to her chest as she backed away from the photo. "That's the man that killed that nice Mr. Travis! What's he doing with Mrs. Travis? This looks like a wedding picture! Why would she marry the man that killed her husband?"

"I doubt that she knew she had."

"You said you had two pictures?"

"Yes, the other is a group shot of the construction crew from the building and parking lot across the street. Do you recognize anyone in it?"

Clara looked it over closely, concentrating on the small faces in the picture. After a few moments, she put her finger on one and said, "That was the third man from the car."

"Are you certain, Clara?" Max asked. "It was a long time ago."

"Yes, I'm positive! I never forget a face!"

When she removed her finger, AJ turned the photo over to see all the names on the back. She had picked out Ralph Franks, Chuck's foreman.

"Thank you, Clara, you've been very helpful," AJ told her.

"Oh it's always such a pleasure to help out, and if there is ever anything at all I can do for you, you just let me know!" she batted her eyes flirtatiously at him.

Meredith stepped between the two of them and in an almost strident tone said, "We really should be going, now!"

Clara looked her right in the eyes and said, "I would be happy to do a reading for the two of you, Dearie, if you have the time that is."

Fascinated by the idea, Meredith enthusiastically said, "That would be nice! You could tell us how bright and happy our future is going to be!"

"Wonderful! Why don't the two of you go into the alcove while I say good bye to Max?"

Meredith and AJ entered the curtained area while Clara gave Max a tender kiss on the cheek before joining the engaged couple.

Placing the tarot cards in Meredith's hands, Clara instructed her to think of her question while she shuffled them.

"I told you that I wanted to know about how happy AJ and I will be when we get married!" Meredith snapped as she handed Clara the cards.

Clara placed the top ten cards out in a circular pattern and then with her hand hovering over the center card, she explained, "This card represents you in the situation." She turned over 'The Fool'.

To be continued….


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Meredith looked at the card and jumped to her feet in a huff, "Well I never! How very rude! You demand we stay for a reading and then you do something like this! I don't have to stay here and take this! Come on, AJ, we're leaving!"

AJ looked at Clara, who had been trying to explain that the card didn't mean that Meredith was a fool, but his fiancée wasn't listening. He quickly apologized to her and followed Meredith from the shop.

Shaking her head, Clara couldn't resist turning over the other cards to see what the rest of the reading said. With a sigh she said, "I should've kissed him! She's going to cheat on him just like she did the others!"

"Meredith, she didn't have any control over what card came up!" AJ tried to soothe her as they left the shop.

"But, AJ, she all but called me a fool!"

"Darling, you shuffled the cards!"

"Whose side are you on?" she demanded.

Flagging down a passing cab, AJ told her, "I don't see that there are any sides here, darling."

Meredith got in to the cab with a pout and gave him the silent treatment for the rest of the ride.

Clayton Webb was informed that Harmon Rabb was on the phone for him. "About time you called in with an update, Rabb!" he snapped into the receiver.

"Hello to you too, Webb," Harm grumbled. He never appreciated being called on the carpet when Chegwidden had been his CO and it grated even more now that Webb was in a position to do it to him.

"Get to it, Harm! I'm a busy man."

"I need intel on Chinh Trang's family back in Nam," Harm stated bluntly.

"What the hell for? You were sent down there to 'make it go away'!"

"I told you Chegwidden was here, and he's not going to let this be swept under the rug until he finds out who killed his friend."

"Damn! Tell me what you want and I'll see what I can do."

Harm explained that they thought there was a family connection between Chinh Trang and Chuck Trask. Webb took notes and said he'd call back.

Less than an hour later Webb called with the information that Harm had requested.

Armed with the ID's Clara had given them, Max and AJ called everyone together. Just before the agreed time for the dinner meeting in the bar, AJ's cell phone rang. "Admiral, I have that information you wanted."

"Go ahead, Bud, what have you got?"

"Commander Ra…um Mr. Rabb was right Sir, Chinh Trang had a brother named Chegh. Their mother, Tuyen, still lives in Viet Nam and Chegh visits her at least twice a year. Chinh was reported to have been killed in June 1970 in an escape from the prison camp where he was a guard. A few years later Chegh left Viet Nam and disappeared for six years before he started his twice-yearly visits to his mother. That was all I could find, Sir, do you want me to keep digging?"

"No, Bud, that's all I need. Thank you very much, you were a big help."

"No trouble at all, Sir, I'm always glad to help."

As AJ ended the call he heard Harriett's voice calling, "Buddy, your dinner's getting cold!" He chuckled as he went downstairs to the bar where the others were gathering.

Harm was heading to the meeting with a pleased attitude. He knew something they didn't!

AJ was the last into the room as the rest of them were placing their meal orders. He took the seat left for him between Meredith and her brother. As everyone settled down and began sharing anything new they had come up with, Harm triumphantly announced that there was a family connection between Travis and Trask. They were brothers. Nodding that their suspicions were confirmed, AJ added the news that Bud had found for him. Harm frowned, planning to berate Webb that a Navy lawyer had outdone the CIA at getting information. He was not happy.

They discussed where, how, and when to confront Trask, AJ insisted that LaVon and Tuyen were not put in harm's way.

Woody suggested that they do it at his office on Monday so as not to endanger LaVon and Tuyen.

AJ however wanted to be involved in Trask's capture and he and Meredith were due to return home on Sunday.

They were trying to figure out a way to capture Trask and still assure the women's safety when Meredith chimed in, "Does he ever work on Saturdays?"

AJ quickly dialed Tuyen's number to find out, and with the knowledge that he did, they made plans for the next morning.

Because of the time difference Chuck Trask/Chegh Trang didn't get the call until the next morning.

To be continued….


	62. Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Meredith was extremely upset about being left behind when the group was going to confront Trask, especially since it was her idea to see if he worked on Saturday. AJ told her it was too dangerous and that the rest of them were trained for that kind of thing.

"What about Jordie! She's a ME, not a cop or military!"

Woody snorted at that and when Meredith turned her glare on him for an explanation, he said, "She's been in almost as many dangerous situations as I have since I've known her!"

"Maybe it's knowing you that causes that!" Meredith protested.

"It doesn't matter, darling. I don't want you in danger so you stay here," AJ gently told her.

Still pouting as the five left she barely waited until they pulled out before she called LaVon and Tuyen. She asked if she could come by and talk about wedding details. Meredith wanted to be as close to the action as she could get. When they invited her right over, she gladly called a cab.

They arrived at Trask's office building and headed in. There was no reason to suspect that he'd been alerted to their coming. Getting off the elevator on the top floor of the high-rise building they faced double glass doors. Unaware that the receptionist downstairs, who'd given them directions, had called up to alert the penthouse office of their arrival, they were a bit startled when a woman came rushing out. She gave them a fearful look, darted past them, and into the still open elevator.

With a silent nod at Max, AJ and the ex-cop quickly moved to either side of the doors and out of sight of anyone inside. Woody seeing this, pulled Jordan out of the way as well and moved to the same side of the door as Max. Harm moved to AJ's side of the door. Both he and Woody drew their guns, they were surprised when Max did as well.

"Dad!" Jordan exclaimed.

"What? You think that even after all these years I would go into a situation like this unarmed?"

With a rueful shake of her head, Jordan let it pass.

As they prepared to go in, Woody warned Jordan to stay back. Jordan nodded, but he could tell from the look in her eyes that she wasn't going to. He looked to Max to do something about his daughter, but Max shrugged and told him, "She hasn't done what I've told her to in years!"

Woody shot a glare at Jordan who just grinned at him.

They'd seen that the doors opened out when the secretary fled, so AJ and Max reached out to pull the doors open while Harm and Woody when in with guns drawn. Gunshots rang out as Max and AJ ran into the room. They saw Ralph taking partial cover behind the secretary's desk.

Jordan saw Harm go down as she came into the room and rushed over to his side. Seeing that the bullet had gone completely through the fleshy part of his thigh, she knew that he'd be in pain, but otherwise all right.

AJ saw Ralph pop up and take aim at Jordan. Picking up a lamp from one of the tables, he sent it flying at Ralph's head, knocking him out just as Woody shot the gun from his hand. Jordan hadn't even seen that she'd almost been shot because she'd pulled out her cell phone and was calling for an ambulance for Harm.

She stayed with him while Max checked on Ralph. AJ and Woody rushed into Trask's office only to find there was a hidden door behind the man's desk and he'd gotten away while the shooting was going on in the outer office.

"Damn it! He got away!" Woody exclaimed as Max came into the room.

"He couldn't have gone far in this amount of time, but since he knows we're after him he'll probably try to skip the country. You should alert the airports, train station, and bus depot," Max instructed Woody.

Woody frowned at Max for telling him his job as he flipped open the cell phone he had already pulled out.

AJ looked at Max and shook his head. "Even if he does plan to leave the country, he won't go without LaVon and Tuyen."

"You think he's headed to the house to get them?"

Grimly AJ nodded and started for the door.

To be continued….


	63. Chapter 63

Chapter 63

As the three returned to the outer office, Woody noticed Ralph Franks was regaining consciousness. As he cuffed Franks, he told Harm and Jordan to keep an eye on him until help arrived. He and Max then started for the elevator.

"Oh no you don't!" Jordan exclaimed. "Harm will be fine till the ambulance gets here. I'm coming with you guys!"

"Now, Jordan…" her father scolded.

"Save it, dad! I'm going!"

The elevator was already opening to AJ's summons when father and daughter joined them in the hall.

Much as he hated to encourage Jordan spending any time with Rabb, Woody knew she'd be safer staying behind. "Jordan, you should stay with Rabb 'til the ambulance arrives," he told her holding the door open so she could leave.

"Nice try, Woody," she said pulling his hand away so the door would close. "I'm going!"

With a sigh, AJ informed her, "You're as stubborn as a certain Marine Colonel I know."

"Thanks, Uncle AJ!" Jordan replied with a grin.

They reached the ground floor and headed for the car. They had no idea what situation they would find at the Trask house. Woody called for back up as AJ drove. Woody reloaded his gun while Jordan checked the clip in the one she had.

"Where did you get that?" Woody demanded.

"Harm dropped it and I didn't really think he'd need it at the hospital, so us having another would be a good thing," she answered snapping the clip back in place after seeing it was nearly full.

"Give it to the Admiral."

"Give him your back up gun, I'll keep this one."

"Do you know how to fire it?" AJ asked with concern.

"I'm a cop's daughter, what do you think?" she smirked.

AJ shot Max a glance and got a confirming nod in reply. Woody just gave Jordan an angry glare, which she answered with a smile.

With a muttered curse, AJ pulled out his cell phone, he needed to warn LaVon and Tuyen. When his goddaughter answered the phone, he said, "Hello Tuyen, it's AJ."

"Dahn tu! How nice of you to call."

"I'm afraid we don't have time to talk. We have reason to believe that Chuck was involved in your father's death. We tried to apprehend him at his office today, but he got away. You need to get your mother and get out of there right now."

"But Dahn tu, we're not here alone…" there was an exclamation of surprise and then he heard Tuyen cry, "Ba! What are you doing?"

The line went dead.

AJ cursed, clicked his phone closed and drove faster.

Chuck Trask stood glaring at his stepdaughter with the phone he'd ripped from the wall still in his hand. "I thought I told you not to talk to that man without my permission, Tuyen!" he growled.

"He is my godfather and I love him, Ba!" Tuyen answered defiantly, something she'd never openly done before.

"You will learn proper respect when we get to Viet Nam! These western ways have corrupted you!"

"I'm not going to Viet Nam! I have my work here."

Hearing the raised voices, LaVon came out of the sitting room to see what was going on. "Is there a problem? We didn't know you would be home so early, Chuck. Ms. Cavanaugh is here going over plans for the wedding."

Chuck cursed under his breath then saw the woman in question come out of the sitting room, "Well, she needs to go. We have to leave for Viet Nam now!"

"Viet Nam? Chuck you've never taken us on your visits before, and I didn't even know you were planning another trip before Thanksgiving!" LaVon exclaimed.

"I don't have time to argue with you số nhiều {wife}! We are going and we are going NOW!" he snarled.

"That's no way to talk to your wife!" Meredith insisted.

"She's my wife and I'll talk to her any way I please! Now you need to leave!"

"I don't think they want to go!"

Chuck snapped, "They'll go where I tell them to go! Now it's time for you to leave!"

"Ba, I don't want to go!" Tuyen protested.

"Your precious godfather is out to kill me! He's already killed Ralph and now wants me dead!" Chuck barked.

To be continued….


	64. Chapter 64

Chapter 64

"If AJ did kill this Ralph person, it was most likely in self defense and the only way he'd kill you was if you were hurting someone! Even though he thinks you killed the man that once saved his life, he only wants to turn you over to the authorities!" Meredith informed him.

"AJ believes you killed Carl?" LaVon gasped. "Why would he think that, Chuck?"

"Probably because it's true …Chuck?" Tuyen would no longer refer to this man as father.

"When did you get so smart, little girl?" Chuck asked, angry at her disrespect.

"I'm a woman and I've always been smart…just blind till now!"

Meredith, thinking she could reason with him demanded, "Do you really think that you'll be able to get out of the country with two unwilling women?"

Inside the house, they heard the sirens of the police cars arriving. Chuck, hearing this, pulled out the gun he'd had hidden and motioned them into the dining room. He knew that the room's windows faced the side of the house not the front. He ordered LaVon to pull the curtains.

Woody snuck up to the house and peeked in the side of a window. All he could see was Chuck with a gun motioning Tuyen into another room. Going around the side, he discovered the curtains were closed. He reported this back to the others, then getting out a bullhorn, he announced that the house was surrounded by the Boston Police Department.

"Let me see if I can reason with him since he knows me," requested AJ.

Taking a slow breath to make sure his voice was calm, AJ said though the bullhorn, "Chegh, we know that you're in there. The house is surrounded and there's no way out. You don't want to endanger your family do you? Send them out."

Hearing her fiancé's voice, Meredith gave a sigh of relief, 'everything would be okay now!' With a triumphant grin she said to Trask, "Yes, you don't want to damage your honor by allowing your family to be in danger or maybe even be killed, do you! You should let them go!"

Knowing that this woman was making sense, yet still knowing that he would need a hostage to get out of this situation alive, Chuck said, "You're right, Ms. Cavanaugh, I don't want my family harmed," as he said that, he motioned them towards the front door.

Meredith gave him a pleased smile for being so reasonable, and turned to follow the two women that were heading to safety. She was caught totally unaware when Chuck grabbed her from behind and she was pulled back against the short man.

Chuck whispered cruelly into her ear, "But you're not family, and I have no reason in the world not to use you as a hostage."

"What about plain common decency?" Meredith declared indignantly!

"You want to live?" he snarled.

LaVon and Tuyen turned when they heard that, when they saw what Chuck was doing, Tuyen started back towards her stepfather.

Chuck raised the gun to the side of Meredith's head and barked, "Take your mother and leave!"

With an apologetic look at Meredith, Tuyen followed her mother from the house.

Everyone outside watched the front door slowly open. Their weapons at the ready, they all gave a sigh of relief when the two women came out alone. Both hurried over to AJ, Tuyen throwing herself into his arms.

"Oh, Dahn tu, I'm so sorry!"

"What do you have to be sorry about, my dear? There was no way you could have known your stepfather killed your father."

"No, not about that!"

"Then what, Tuyen?" he asked perplexed.

"I'm sorry that Ba…Chuck is holding Meredith in there and won't let her leave!"

"Meredith? What is she doing here?" AJ asked exasperatedly.

"She came over to talk about the wedding plans," Tuyen explained.

"I'm so sorry that Ms. Cavanaugh is in that awful situation,, AJ," LaVon cried.

"It's not your fault she's in there, LaVon. She was told to stay out of this when we left to track Chuck down, and she obviously didn't listen. Is she alright?"

"She was when we came out."

"The door's opening again!" Woody called out and all eyes turned to see Meredith appear with a male arm around her waist and a gun pointed at her head.

To be continued….


	65. Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Everyone froze in place waiting for what would happen next, it seemed to take forever. The ringing of a cell phone broke the tense silence.

AJ could see Meredith holding her phone to her ear. He could see the fear and pleading in her eyes. Taking out his phone, his hand was grabbed by the hostage negotiator that worked with the Boston PD. "Let me deal with him!" the man ordered.

"It's not 'him' calling!" AJ stated, pulling his arm away and flipping open the phone. "Meredith, are you all right?"

"Oh, AJ, I'm so sorry! That Rose woman was right…I'm a fool!"

"No, darling, you're not. Everything will be fine, just tell me what he wants. I'll get you out of this."

"Don't promise him anything!" the hostage negotiator hissed.

With a glare, AJ snapped, "This isn't the first situation like this I've faced!"

Meanwhile, Meredith was listing Trask's demands, "He wants a car here in front of the house with a full tank of gas, he has his plane at the airport ready to go. He says he'll let me go when he's safely on it, but if anyone tries anything…" she released a sob, "he says he'll kill me!"

"All right, Meredith, I'll make the arrangements. You do everything he says and stay calm, everything will be fine."

"He says he'll give you thirty minuets! I love you, AJ!"

"I love you too, Darlin'," AJ said and ended the call to report Trask's demands, as Chuck drug Meredith into the house and out of sight.

"Is that all he wanted," the negotiator asked.

"Yes, he just wants out of this country, and to get home," AJ answered. Turning to look at Woody and Max he asked, "How many airports locally support private planes?"

"Three," Woody quickly answered.

Having heard the question, LaVon moved closer to AJ and said, "He uses the one on Clarkson Blvd."

Flashing her a quick smile, AJ thanked her and before he could say anything else, Woody said, "I'll get someone there now!"

AJ told the negotiator, "Have that car ready in case I don't get back in time."

"Where are you going?" the man demanded.

"To get my fiancée out of there!" AJ informed him. As he began to move away, Jordan put her hand on his arm.

When he stopped to look at her, she told him, "He's letting Aunt Merry contact you…put your phone on vibrate."

With a nod of understanding, AJ did. The group watched him give the house a wide berth before heading around back. The negotiator demanded, "What does he think he's doing? He's going to get his fiancée killed!"

"He was a Navy SEAL, if anyone can get her out of there, he can," Jordan replied.

Shaking his head disbelievingly the negotiator turned away.

Inside the house, Trask had tied Meredith to a dining room chair and gagged her. It wasn't that he was afraid she would scream and alert people outside, he simply didn't want to listen to her!

AJ easily managed to get into the house through the patio door without making a sound. He crept through the rooms looking for Meredith and Trask. In the dining room he saw that Meredith was there alone, tied to a chair. Quickly looking around and not spotting Trask, he entered the room and began to untie her. She kept mumbling through her gag and even though AJ repeatedly pressed his finger to his lips, indicating that she should be quiet, she still grumbled for him to remove the gag.

He loosened the bonds around her chest and only had her hands to free, and the gag to remove. Meredith had finally quieted down, so he reached for the gag next, and gently lifted it off of her. The instant her mouth was free, she exclaimed, "AJ, we have to get out of here now! He'll kill us if he finds us, I think he's crazy!"

"Meredith! Be quiet or he'll hear you!" AJ whispered fiercely, just as she exclaimed, "AJ, look out!" Unfortunately it wasn't in time. As AJ turned to see what the warning was about, Trask hit him on the back of the head with the butt of the gun he was holding. AJ crashed to the ground unconscious.

"Oh dear!" Meredith sighed.

To be continued….


	66. Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Harm arrived on the scene from the hospital and stopped at the police barricade. He barked at the first officer he saw while flashing his CIA ID, "Who's in charge here, I'm taking over."

Woody was called over and was surprised to see Rabb, "Boy, you got out of the hospital quick."

"Yes, and I have jurisdiction here, I'm taking over this situation."

"There is a hostage here, once she's safe, it's all yours."

Before Harm could reply, an officer came up to Woody and informed him that the car Trask wanted was ready.

"Fine, bring it here, I'll deliver it," Harm commanded.

Yanking Meredith to her feet, Trask made his way back to the front of the house. He was just in time to see a car pull up in the driveway. He started out of the house towards the car, with the annoying woman as his shield.

Harm struggled out of the car. His leg wound was not giving him any pain at the moment because of the drugs he'd received at the hospital, but he was having trouble moving around with his usual grace because of the bandage and the cane they had given him. He saw Trask approaching with Meredith Cavanaugh in tow.

Max, Jordan, and Woody had seen Trask exit the house with Meredith. The three of them ran around the police barricade before anyone could stop them.

Brandishing the gun at the tall man with the cane, Trask ordered, "Get away from the car!"

Woody signaled to the sniper to hold, Meredith was too close.

Harm slowly backed away from the car, keeping his eyes on Trask the whole time.

Once he was far enough away, Trask backed in to the car, keeping Meredith in front of him. "Close the door and drive to the airport," he ordered as he crouched low in the passenger seat.

Nervously, Meredith put the car in gear, but it car jerked forward towards the garage, and slammed into the door, throwing Trask headfirst in to the dash. The Markov was knocked out of Trask's hand and into her lap.

Meredith let out a screech as the car hit the garage and then noticed something land in her lap. She started to get out of the car and saw the gun.

"You stupid bitch!" Trask screamed, still reeling from the blow to the head. He grabbed towards the gun, but only got the barrel.

Max saw the car door open and rushed forward.

Meredith grabbed the handle of the gun, struggling to keep it away from Trask.

A shot rung out and Meredith fell out of the car.

The gun, still in Meredith's hand, discharged again when she hit the ground.

The bullet hit Max in the shoulder and he fell beside his sister.

Trask, now bleeding from his side where the first bullet had hit him, slammed the car into reverse and tore out of the driveway.

A news truck had got there just then and a helicopter was overhead.

Harm, who had started to move towards the car, now had to leap out of the way not be run over. This further aggravated his leg wound.

With three people on the ground, Jordan didn't know who to go to first. Seeing that Max had just been shot, she moved to him and Meredith.

Woody jumped in to Max's car and took off after the escaping Trask. Several other police cars followed him.

Meredith started to get up and go back in to the house to check on AJ.

"Meredith, where were you shot?" Jordan asked.

"I wasn't," she exclaimed, "but AJ's hurt!" She kept moving towards the house.

Max groaned and looked at his daughter, "Merry shot me!" he said disbelievingly, holding his hand to his shoulder.

Jordan looked him over quickly as the paramedics ran up, "It went clean through, Dad. You'll be fine."

Max glared at her, "Thanks for your concern," he said sarcastically. Jordan had already turned away from him and was heading in to the house.

"Eighteen years on the force and I never got shot once, now I'm retired and my own sister shoots me…" Max muttered as the paramedic bandaged his wound.

The paramedic smiled sympathetically, "I know, there've been a few times I would've liked to have shot my sister too."

Just then, Harm's cell phone rang, it was Webb. The paramedic was redressing his leg as he lay there helplessly while everything was happening.

"Was that you I just saw jump out of the way of a car on channel 7?" Webb asked agitatedly.

"Yes, well you see…" Harm started to say.

"I thought you had things under control there? You were to make it go away, now it's live on TV!"

To be continued….


	67. Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Meredith hurried back to the house to the dining room where AJ was still lying. "Oh, my poor darling, you were trying to save me!"

AJ moaned and moved his hand up to his head.

Trask sped down the road, through stop signs and stoplights like they weren't even there. Woody followed as close as he safely could.

He plowed through a particularly busy intersection, the other cars slammed on brakes and swerved to miss him. Woody tried to avoid the chaos in front of him, but a car swerved in to his path and their bumpers locked. It was clear no one was hurt, so Woody sped on in the direction Trask left, his bumper now dragging the ground on the right side of his car.

As Harm was about to answer Webb's demand for information, Jordan came up to him.

"Are you all right," she asked as she checked his wound.

"I'm fine," answered Harm

"I didn't ask how you were, I asked why you're on the news," snapped Webb.

"I'm going after Trask now," Harm said to both of them and clicked his phone shut.

As Jordan helped Harm to his feet Max came over, "If you and Jordan are going after Trask, I'm going too."

The news crew swung the camera over to the door when one of them saw Meredith and AJ emerging. "Ma'am, who are you and why did Mr. Trask have you as a hostage?"

"I'm Meredith Cavanaugh and this is my fiancée Admiral AJ Chegwidden, I stayed behind so his wife and daughter could flee to safety!"

Max walked over to one of the cops still on the scene that he recognized from his days on the force and commandeered his vehicle. AJ, seeing this happen, and knowing Max would be going after Trask, left Meredith's side. He arrived just in time to become part of the argument on who should drive.

Harm argued, "It's my case!"

Jordan announced, "You've been shot in the leg!"

Max declared, "I have the keys!"

Jordan demanded, "You were shot in the shoulder!"

AJ explained, "I haven't been shot."

Jordan exclaimed, "No, but you were knocked unconscious! Listen, I'm the only one here NOT hurt…except Aunt Merry…so, I'll drive, unless you want me to get her…"

Max quickly tossed his daughter the keys and climbed into the front passenger seat, claiming he would need to be on the radio. This left AJ and Harm in the back seat together, neither were happy about that.

Taking off in the direction Trask had gone, Jordan drove carefully through the residential area. Max was about to get on the radio when he heard dispatch answer a call from Detective Hoyt. Woody had lost sight of Trask's car and needed his location from the helicopter overhead.

As soon as Woody heard where Trask was, he cursed aloud. They had guessed the man would try and get out of the country so they'd stationed cops at the places where he could do that. What they hadn't done was have the subway guarded. They had underestimated Trask. Realizing he was being followed, he changed his plans and was going to disappear into the city until things cooled down.

When Woody had applied for the job in Boston, he began to study maps of the city so he would be as familiar with it as he was his hometown in Wisconsin. Calling up a picture of those maps in his head, he made a sharp left turn and took the shortest route to the subway station.

At the house, the news crew finally got away from Ms. Cavanaugh and as they walked away she realized she'd been left. Spotting LaVon and Tuyen standing in the yard looking lost she went over to them. "Where did they go?" she questioned.

"After Chuck," LaVon responded.

"I hope they catch him and put him away for a long time!" Tuyen declared.

"I'm sure AJ will, my dear! I just wish they'd waited for me!" Meredith answered.

"I wish we could get out of here, so those reporters would leave us alone," Tuyen fretted.

"We could go to my brother's place. Maybe we could get a cab."

"Our car is in the garage…if we can get it open," LaVon said looking at the battered door.

"I'm sorry about that," Meredith offered. "But it really was that evil litt…Chuck's fault. He got me so flustered!"

To be continued….


	68. Chapter 68

Chapter 68

The three women approached the garage and tried to open the door. Two officers that were coming out of the house saw their efforts and assisted them. When asked where they were going in case they were needed for questioning, Meredith gave them the name of Max' bar and said they could be reached there.

Cutting several minutes off the chase with the shortcut he'd taken, Woody screeched around the corner in front of the station just in time to see Trask jump out of the car he'd left double parked and run into the building.

Leaving Max' car double-parked and still running as well, Woody chased after Trask.

Noticing how carefully Jordan was driving, Harm leaned forward, holding onto the headrest between them. Looking at the speedometer, he asked, "Can't this thing go any faster?"

Turning a bit to glare at him angrily, she firmly assured him, "I'm an ME, NOT a race car driver!"

Harm was about to respond when Max shouted, "Jordan, look out!" and pointed to a child that was riding his bike in the street.

With a muttered curse, she swerved out of the way, narrowly missing him.

The radio crackled and the dispatcher informed everyone in the chase that Trask and Detective Hoyt had just entered the subway station.

Jordan hit the gas, and the car jumped forward, throwing Harm back against his seat.

Not wanting to take the time to pay, Trask nonetheless lost precious seconds as he struggled over the turnstile at the payment kiosk.

A subway cop saw Trask and shouted for him to stop.

Seconds later, Woody vaulted over the same turnstile in his pursuit.

Now the overweight officer had two lawbreakers on his hands! Calling out again for both of them to stop, the out of shape man planted himself firmly in front of the first man with his arms waving franticly.

Woody called out, "Boston PD! Stop him!" and waved his badge that was swinging on a chain around his neck.

As the cop looked away from the first man to confirm Woody's claim, Trask took the unexpected advantage and threw a backhanded punch into the side of the cops head as he ran past him.

The cop fell to the ground with a thud and as Woody reached him he paused for a moment to check on him.

Trask, glancing back over his shoulder, saw Woody bend over the man and turned around. He groped for the gun he'd forgotten he'd lost in the struggle with the annoying woman he'd taken hostage at the house.

Woody seeing Trask reach for a gun, drew his and shouted, "Don't do it!"

Jordan, Mac, Harm, and AJ had arrived at the station and Jordan heard Woody's call. "This way!" she exclaimed, pointing where she'd heard his voice come from.

The four and several officers that had also arrived hurried in that direction.

Realizing his gun was gone, Trask turned again and started for the trains.

Since he'd seen Trask had no weapon, Woody holstered his and ran after the escaping man.

When the group got to where the overweight cop was struggling to his feet, he was able to point them in the direction that Trask and Woody had gone.

Dodging in and out of the noontime commuters, Trask was losing ground to the taller man following him.

Woody's longer strides were closing the distance between them as Trask finally reached the platform. Launching himself at Trask, both men went down in a tangle of arms and legs. Both were punching at the other and trying to maneuver for dominance.

As the fight continued the others were fast approaching.

Catching a glimpse of the others on their way to assist Woody, Trask managed a frantic knee to Woody's groin.

Gasping for air as the pain shot through his body, Woody was unable to prevent Trask from grabbing his gun.

Pointing it at the still incapacitated detective, Trask could see the train approaching in the tunnel. All he wanted was to get on it and disappear.

Max, seeing the gun pointed at Woody's head, only thought to save the young man's life. He dove at Trask and the two crashed to the platform as the gun went spinning out of Trask's hand.

Hitting the smaller man with more force than he intended, both of them flew off the platform right into the path of the oncoming train.

To be continued….


	69. Chapter 69

Chapter 69

The assemblage barely had time to gasp in disbelief as the train filled the tunnel.

Jordan's moan of grief tore at the hearts of all that heard it, as she turned for comfort in the arms of Harmon Rabb.

With her head buried in Harm's shoulder, Jordan cried for the loss of her father. Now she was truly alone in the world.

Woody and AJ stood by, helpless to offer her any words of comfort. How could they? Everyone had seen the train sweep into the station right on the tracks where the two men had fallen.

The passengers getting off the train had no clue why the platform seemed to be full of police, or why everyone's attention seemed to be focused on one weeping woman.

It seemed like forever for the train to disembark its passengers and pick up the next group, but finally the train slowly started to move and gain speed as it pulled away from the platform.

AJ was the first to spot the still form laying on the second set of tracks. He jumped down from the platform and hurried to the figure. Carefully rolling the man onto his back, AJ was glad to hear a moan of pain. At least that meant Max was still alive.

One of the officers that had followed AJ called out that there was blood on the first set of tracks and a lone shoe. It was all that was left of Chuck Trask.

Max moaned again and opened his eyes, just as Woody reached him. Thrilled to be able to offer good news, Woody called out, "Jordan! Your father's alive!"

Her head snapped up from Harm's shoulder to find Woody. Spotting him, she hurried forward and got there as Max was trying to get up.

"Don't move, Dad! I need to check you over," she said placing her hand on his uninjured shoulder to keep him from rising.

"Sure! I get shot and you don't care, but let a little old train just clip me and you're all concerned!"

"I did care, but there were others hurt too, and there was a paramedic to take care of you!"

"Hey you two! Could you have this fight up on the platform? There's another train coming in!" Woody pointed out.

Although Max insisted that he could walk, it took both AJ and Woody's assistance to get him to the edge of the platform. Harm and one of the officers there reached out to help him up while Woody and AJ helped from behind.

When Woody turned to help Jordan up a few seconds later, he found Rabb lifting her right into his arms. With a sigh he instructed one of the officers, "Close down one track until you find Trask's body."

Someone in the crowd had called 911 when they'd seen the two men fall off the platform. The police that were keeping the news crews at bay allowed the paramedics through. They were informed that Max was the only one needing treatment the other man was gone. They worked on him for several minutes as trains continued to come and go from the station.

Max refused to go to the hospital when they finished treating him. They informed his daughter that he had two cracked ribs and a sprained wrist as well as cuts and bruises from the fight and fall. They also mentioned a gunshot wound that looked very recent.

"He leads a very active life for a retired cop," she informed them.

"Good God! I wonder what he was like before he retired?" one of them muttered as they packed up their gear.

Max snorted.

Jordan giggled.

Woody rolled his eyes.

Harm shook his head.

And AJ laughed.

Woody and Jordan assisted Max to his feet. As they started out of the subway station, Harm put his arm around Jordan's waist thinking she might need help while supporting her father. Several pictures were taken of the group as they passed the news personnel.

When they got to street level, AJ told them he was going to catch a cab. He felt he should be the one to tell LaVon and Tuyen what had happened to Chuck before they heard it on the news. While he was in the cab, he remembered Meredith and figured he'd better call her to let her know what was going on. To his surprise, she told him that LaVon and Tuyen were with her at Max'. AJ gave the cab driver the new address and leaned back to listen to Meredith's lecture.

To be continued….


	70. Chapter 70

Chapter 70

"How could you just leave me like that, AJ?" Without even drawing a breath to let him answer, she continued on, "I mean you were wounded and everything and you needed me to take care of you, but no, you go racing off in pursuit of that dangerous little man without me! I had just finished talking to that nice man from Channel 7 all about what happened and I looked around and you were gone! I mean how would it have looked to the reporter if he had wanted to talk to you and you weren't there? It would have been very embarrassing! It was just a good thing that he'd said I'd given him more than enough information for his story! Then when I couldn't find you, I saw LaVon and Tuyen standing there all lost and alone, just like I was…so I brought them home…well to Max' with me so they could get away from all those reporters. When are you coming back, my darling?"

"I'll be there in just a few minutes, Meredith, but I'll need a little time alone with LaVon and Tuyen when I get there," AJ explained, knowing that would cause problems and wanting to get it settled before he got there rather than in front of the other two.

"Alone! AJ, we're supposed to be a team now that we're getting married! That means we shouldn't have any secrets from each other! What can you have to say to them that I can't hear?"

"Meredith, what happened at the station wasn't good and I feel they should hear it from me before they hear it on the news. Please understand, darling. I don't have any secrets from you, I just need to tell them this alone, okay?"

"Well, I guess, but you be sure to tell them that they can count on me for sympathy and understanding!"

"I will, Meredith, and I'm sure that will mean a lot to them both," AJ replied as the cab arrived in front of the bar. Paying the man, he went in to deliver the bad news about Chuck.

The reactions he got to the news was about what he expected, LaVon seemed saddened at Chuck's death, but AJ was pretty sure he detected a glimmer of relief in her eyes. Tuyen, out of respect for her mother, tried to hide the satisfaction she felt at what she considered justice for her father's murder.

AJ offered to escort them home, but LaVon insisted that she might as well get used to taking care of things herself. They left just as Max arrived home by himself.

After recovering his car, he'd dropped Jordan and Harm at Harm's hotel. They were going to have dinner together.

Woody had gotten a ride to the station from an officer at the scene. He had the onerous duty of filling out paperwork on the incidents. When he got word that Trask's body, well the biggest pieces of it, had been found, he called AJ Chegwidden to see if he would go to the ME's office and identify the body. Because of the condition, Woody hadn't wanted to put LaVon or Tuyen through that process, and AJ agreed.

As he was returning to Max', AJ's cell rang. LaVon was inviting him and the Cavanaughs to a memorial service for Carl, the next day. She had arranged it so quickly because she knew that AJ and Meredith would be returning to Virginia the next evening. AJ promised they would be there.

At Harm's hotel he told Jordan that he wanted a shower, clean clothes, and a short rest before dinner. With a grin, she suggested that she could join him in all but the clean clothes. Harm smiled and agreed.

They took a slow sensuous shower together, teasing and tempting each other with the promise of fulfillment once they reached the bed. Because of Harm's leg injury he didn't have the strength or stamina to do anything in the shower. They quickly dried themselves off, eager to get to the bed, when Harm's cell phone began to ring.

To be continued….


	71. Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Reluctantly, with an apologetic look at Jordan, Harm glanced at the phone and saw it was Webb. "I have to take this," he told her as he flipped the phone open and sat down on the bed. "Yeah?" he snapped into the phone, he was in no mood to take any of Webb's shit.

"Rabb, I can't believe how badly you botched this assignment! I sent you there to make it all go away and now you're on national news! There's going to be hell to pay when you get back. I have you booked on a flight home that leaves Boston in forty-five minutes. Don't miss the flight!" Before Harm could even formulate a reply, Webb had ended the call.

Hating what he had to do, but knowing enough when to obey orders or else, he told Jordan, "I have to go," and started to dress.

Standing next to the bed, ready to get in as soon as the call had ended, Jordan gasped, "NOW?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," he answered as he continued to dress.

"You've got to be kidding!" she demanded.

He threw her a glance and his reaction to the angry naked woman had him as hard as he had been before hearing Webb's voice, unfortunately he didn't have any time to do anything about it! "I'm not. Sorry, Jordan, but I will call you. I travel a lot with my job so it might not be long before we can see each other again. The flight to Virginia isn't that long, maybe you could come for a weekend now and then too," he suggested.

He'd finished dressing by this time and threw his few belongings into the one bag he'd brought. "The room's reserved through tomorrow, if you want to stay," he told her as he started for the door.

"Right!" she snorted as she began to dress. What reason did she have to stay when she had a perfectly good apartment just a few miles away? And she'd heard that 'I'll call you' line before. This was probably the last she would ever see of Harmon Rabb, and she didn't know whether to be glad of that or not.

The next morning, AJ, Meredith, Max, Jordan, and Woody all attended the memorial service for Carl Travis. They had lunch with LaVon and Tuyen afterwards. Everyone, including Max and LaVon were surprised at how well they were getting on.

AJ was glad to see LaVon smiling at something Max had said to her and he hoped that something good would come out of it. He liked and respected Max and knew that he was a good man, he would treat LaVon well.

Tuyen also seemed to like Max and she too noticed how well her mother and the retired detective were getting along. With a delighted grin, she thought that maybe her second stepfather would be much better than the first!

It was evening when Meredith and AJ boarded the plane to take them back to Virginia. Max had taken them to the airport and they parted with promises to see each other again soon. The plane ride was short and uneventful. AJ dropped Meredith off at her apartment before heading to Mac's place to pick up Dammit.

To be continued….


	72. Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Sunday, 17 August 2003

1820 EST

Mac's Apartment

AJ knocked on Mac's door. He hadn't called first, but since he'd told her that he'd pick up Dammit up that evening he hoped he would find her home. She answered the door before he could knock a second time with Dammit right by her side. "Hi!" Mac greeted cheerfully as Dammit pushed her out of the way in her eagerness to greet her master.

"Hello to both of you," AJ laughed, as he fended off Dammit's kisses. "I trust you two had a good time?"

"We had a grand time, Sir," Mac replied after inviting him in. "The only trouble was the sleeping arrangements."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, I couldn't get her to sleep next to the bed, she had to share with me," came the rueful answer.

"You should have shown her who was boss, Mac," AJ scolded.

"I tried, Sir, but she's as stubborn as her owner, and insisted on sleeping with me!"

"Are you implying something, Mac?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh no, Sir! I never dreamed of it, after all you're engaged to my best friend."

"Calm down, Mac, I was only teasing, and it was you that brought up the subject of the sleeping arrangements."

"Yes, Sir, I guess it was. Sorry about that. I guess I just felt the need to warn you that I had spoiled her while she was here and let her sleep with me. So you might have trouble getting her back on the floor since I was so bad."

"So let me see if I have this straight, you are telling me that you were bad with my dog in your bed? Does this fall under the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy?" he laughed.

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, Mac deliberately changed the subject, "So did you and Meredith have a good time?"

"Yes I met her family and got to see my god-daughter as well while we were there."

"That sounds nice. Did you do anything exciting?"

"Well let's see…we found the body of a friend of mine buried under a parking lot that had been missing for twenty five years, and I introduced Meredith to my god daughter. Because Carl was in the witness protection program, the CIA was called in and Harm was the agent they sent; Meredith attended a fashion show where she found the dresses she wanted her attendants to wear. Then we had a shoot out with the killer, and Harm was shot. Meredith was taken as a hostage, and I was trying to rescue her when the killer knocked me out…Meredith crashed a car into a garage, and there was a high-speed chase through the streets of Boston ending in a confrontation with the killer at the subway station. Meredith's brother dove at the killer when he tried to shoot the detective struggling with him and the two of them fell into the path of an oncoming train, other than that we had a pretty uneventful visit. Oh except for the trip to the physic!" AJ cheerfully reported.

With a dazed look on her face, Mac said, "I think I'm sorry I asked."

"I have discovered that a vacation with Meredith is almost more tiring than staying here and working would have been," he sighed.

"So you came home to recover?" she teased.

"Yes, but don't tell Meredith that please."

"Oh I wouldn't dream of it, Sir, but I think it might make something good to hold over your head for when I'd like a day off!"

"Are you threatening to blackmail me, Colonel?"

"It's not a threat, Sir, it's a promise," she chuckled.

As AJ was about to respond, Dammit woofed to let them know they had ignored her long enough. "I guess I should be getting this lady home. Thank you again for taking care of her, Mac, if I can ever do anything for you, please just let me know."

"Well, as I recall, you kissed me the last time you left…"

"Colonel, should I be calling red-light here?" he seemed genuinely concerned.

"Oh no, Sir, I was just thinking about how lonely I've been lately."

"Oh, Mac, someone as charming and honorable as you shouldn't have any trouble finding someone."

With a tear in her eye, she said, "Thank you, Sir. That is the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time. Does Meredith know how lucky she is to have an amazing man like you?"

"I think that we are lucky to have each other," he offered as he prepared to leave the apartment with all of Dammit's supplies.

"I still think she's the lucky one, Sir. I'll see you in the office tomorrow," Mac said as he walked out the door. Once it had closed behind him she sighed and said, "And you'll never know how much I regret introducing the two of you."

THE END


	73. Chapter 73

EPPILOG

In Leavenworth, there was a man sitting in a cell flipping a paper clip through his fingers looking at the article about the death of Chuck Trask in the newspaper. The picture clearly showed Harmon Rabb with his arm around a woman identified as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh. In Boston, Clara Rose also read the story, as she cut it out to put it in her scrapbook, her hand passed over the picture and she shuddered. She knew someone else was looking at it with malicious intent.


End file.
